Typhoon
by LoveShinobi-Angelv
Summary: The sequel to Whirlwind. When all seems to be going well, Gaara and Sakura are sucked into a Typhoon of emotions that might just tear them apart. -Rated for Sexual Content-
1. Suna

**Typhoon**

_Chapter One _

-Suna-

Gaara walked into the office, letting out a content sigh. It had been six months since he told Sakura that he was in love with her, and his life had never been better. The receptionist smiled happily at her Kazekage, growing used to his cheerful demeanor these days. "Good morning Kazekage-sama! Another good day I assume?"

The redhead turned to her and laughed, "Well why not?"

"True." She nodded, exhilarated that her leader was so filled with life. "I assume it's still because of Sakura-sama. I love her to death. I wonder when she's coming to visit again, everyone really misses her."

"Hopefully soon," Gaara gave her a small wave before disappearing up the steps. During the past months he and Sakura had only sporadically seen one another, a few visits back and forth, meeting halfway every now and then. The elders hadn't been too excited with his sudden disappearances, but were pleased he had found interest in a woman. A very politically influential woman.

He reached the top of the stairs and headed down the hallway, not to his office, but to the meeting room. He had a very important meeting with the council today. It was the day that his whole life was going to change.

Pushing the doors open to the large council room, he took his seat in the only chair available. "Good morning, Kazekage-sama." They all spoke in unison. The table was filled with young and old men from the village, and only a couple women. "Now shall we begin?" another called around the table, only getting nods in response.

"Kazekage-sama, why have you called this meeting today?" an older woman spoke, watching her redheaded leader closely.

Gaara took a deep breath and leaned forward, folding his hands together. "I think that it is time I take a wife." He announced. The murmuring rose, excitement coming from most of the elders.

"Oh Kazekage-sama yes, we were thinking the same thing. After all, you are of age and a Kage needs a wife."

"Who did you have in mind?" another asked.

The women of the council laughed, a brunette speaking up now. "Haruno Sakura, of course. Kazekage-sama is in love with the Leaf medic."

"A Konoha shinobi?" an older man said, disapproval all over his face. Gaara could not stop the glare that had focused on the man.

"Hmm…" a younger one of the council pondered. "Actually…that's not a bad idea." Instantly Gaara's glare vanished as he was reassured by one of his council members. "Kazekage-sama is very attached to Haruno Sakura, and she _is_ a brilliant medic. Marrying someone from Konoha would strengthen the alliance between the two villages."

"She could also run the hospital. We need her expertise since her departure has left us without a head medic." Another woman spoke up.

"The head nurse was a pain, I never really liked her." An older man sighed, glad they were rid of dealing with the demanding Yoko.

Gaara leaned back in his seat, a smile setting in on his face. This was going a lot smoother than he thought it would.

"I think Haruno Sakura would make an excellent addition to Suna, her medical skills and physical prowess are sought after by many." A younger blonde woman nodded, the two men beside her nodding with their own approval.

"I agree."

"And I."

"I think Kazekage-sama should marry someone from Suna." The youngest girl of the group spoke out finally, determination on her face. A few of the oldest members nodded with agreement.

The blonde woman who seemed fond of Sakura rolled her eyes, joining her Kazekage in glaring at the girl. "Matsuri, Kazekage-sama is _never_ going to spontaneously fall in love with you, so please save your feelings for another time, and do not bring such hopeless nonsense into the council room."

The brunette went wide eyed, a dark blush now on her face. Gaara simply rolled his eyes. He was now positive that Hana was his favorite council member. The room was silent then, some of the members whispering to one another. Finally after a long debate amongst themselves, Gaara slammed his hands on the table, getting the undivided attention of the others.

"Enough of this bickering, a vote is needed." Gaara said sternly. The twenty members nodded, awaiting the moment to cast their opinions. "Now," Gaara cleared his throat and laced his fingers together, leaning forward and resting his elbows on the table.

"Everyone who agrees with me and my decision to marry Haruno Sakura, please raise your hands."

Hana, the blonde council member, raised her hand first, followed by the men beside her, and then followed by ten other members.

"And those opposed?" the redhead asked darkly, ready to take note of the ones who would regret it later. Matsuri shot her hand in the air with the six remaining members, mostly older associates.

"Well!" Hana began excitedly, clapping her hands together. "It looks like a landslide. Haruno Sakura will become a member of Suna and join our Kazekage-sama in matrimony."

"If she says yes…" Matsuri mumbled incoherently.

Ignoring the younger woman, Hana continued. "What a happy day," she smiled brightly, turning to face the redhead. "I am happy for you Kazekage-sama, I wish you luck in your journey to retrieve Sakura-sama."

"What? He's leaving to go get her?" one of the defiant ones spoke up.

Surprisingly, another one of the older women who had voted against the Konoha shinobi rolled her eyes. "Of course he is. If Kazekage-sama is going to do this he will do it right. You do not propose to a woman by letter or any other means, you go to her and ask. Despite my objection, I will make sure Kazekage-sama is a gentleman about the matter." She nodded, getting giggles from some of the other girls and stares from the men.

Gaara laughed as well. He really liked where this was all going. Now he could finally see Sakura and make her his, and then they would no longer have to be apart. They could be together forever.

"Now, when will you be leaving?"

"Today." Gaara said quickly. He saw some of the disapproving looks, but no one said anything. "Temari will be traveling with me, so I am leaving Hana in charge of things while I am gone." He said simply, gesturing to the blonde who gave an approving nod.

"I will do my best Kazekage-sama."

"I know." He smiled softly.

"What about Kankuro-sama?" a man asked, obviously peeved that he was not chosen to hold the Kazekage's place.

"What about Kankuro?" Gaara glared, still holding onto his vendetta with his elder brother.

There was nothing else said after that, so Gaara dismissed the meeting and left the room quickly. He wanted to leave for Konoha as soon as possible. Unable to stand the walk home, his sand wrapped around him and he vanished, leaving nothing but a few particles behind.

Arriving in his room, he grabbed the bag he had packed the previous night and slung it over his shoulder. There was only one more thing he needed before meeting Temari at the gates. He went to his dresser and took down a dark velvet box. He opened it to examine the ring he had gotten for Sakura. It was a white gold band, with a fairly large diamond cut precisely and arranged to look like a cherry blossom. It was perfect, he hoped. Gaara then slid the box into his pocket and left his house in the same manner in which he arrived.

The sand stirred in the air next to Temari, and he appeared beside her. The event was so natural for her that she didn't even find it startling. "Well are you ready to go?"

"Of course I am," Gaara said simply, placing his hand at his side and feeling his pocket to make sure the ring was still there, an action he would perform every few moments the whole way to Konoha.

"Well let's go." She gave him a smile, before they took off into the desert.


	2. Konoha

**Typhoon**

_Chapter Two_

-Konoha-

Sakura sat in Tsunade's office, bored out of her mind. There was nothing going on in the village right now, and the hospital was like a ghost town. She supposed she should be happy about this, because it meant that nobody was hurt or sick, but it resulted in her boredom. So, she decided to do what she always did when she was bored. She thought about Gaara.

They had been seeing each other for six months now, and it had been the best six months of her life. When her vacation had ended, she was forced to return to Konoha, despite how badly she wanted to stay. She and Gaara exchanged letters of course, hers rambling about the different goings on of the village and her life, his about the mundane tasks as village head that he had to do, and the annoying things his siblings did.

And every once in a while, when she was out on a mission, they would meet halfway between the two villages, and visit for a while. Every time they met, their encounters grew more heated, until one time she was pretty sure they were going to go all the way right there in the grass. She had stopped him then, saying that she didn't want to get caught in a compromising situation, given who they both were. Remembering that time in Suna when Naruto had walked in on them, he agreed, albeit reluctantly.

The truth was, she had decided that she wanted to wait until she got married until having sex. And if Gaara didn't ask her, she would remain the way she was for the rest of her life. Untouched. She sighed, that prospect being a depressing thought. The truth was, she already knew what she wanted. She wanted to be with Gaara, forever and always. Marriage was the way her parents had done it, and that was how she wanted to do it. But, for now, she was content merely being his girlfriend. At least, that's what she called herself. Gaara simply said that she was his. But whatever. Tomato, _tomato_.

Hinata was Naruto's girlfriend now. They had gotten together shortly after the group returned from Suna, Naruto finally realizing that he did care for the ebony haired woman. Sakura was happy for them, she really was. But they got to see each other _every_ day, whereas she only got to see Gaara once or twice a month. They didn't realize how lucky they were, to have such a gift. She grew jealous all of a sudden. They didn't know what _real_ love was. It didn't matter that Hinata had been in love with Naruto for over seven years, Naruto had just realized his feelings a few months ago! Suddenly the pink haired woman felt ashamed. Just because she didn't get to see Gaara as much as Hinata got to see Naruto didn't mean that she needed to think spitefully of them. And, you know what they say: absence makes the heart grow fonder.

Sighing in defeat, she turned in her chair, only to see that her Shishou had fallen asleep, a small puddle of drool on her desk next to her mouth. She shook her head at her sensei. Suddenly, the doors to the room were thrown open, and a panting Shizune entered. "Tsunade-sama! Wake up! I have important news!" she said frantically.

All she got in response was a loud snore. Rolling her eyes, the older woman tried a different approach. "Oh no! All the sake is gone!" she yelled.

This caused their mentor to sit up in her chair, alert immediately. "What?" she yelled, furious.

"Tsunade-sama! I have something to tell you!" Shizune repeated.

Ignoring this, the blonde stood and began to look around the room. "Why is all the sake gone? I just ordered in a new shipment yesterday."

Shaking her head negatively, Shizune tried again. "The sake isn't gone, Tsunade-sama."

Glaring at her the ebony haired medic, Tsunade growled. "Then why did you say it was? Don't lie to me about such important matters Shizune."

"B-but Tsunade-sama, I needed to tell you-" Suddenly, she was interrupted by the presence of someone else in the room. Gaara walked in before his introduction could even be made.

"Gaara!" Sakura gasped, surprised yet happy to see him. She refrained from running into his arms though, since the Hokage looked like she was about to kill somebody.

Hastily wiping the saliva off her chin, Tsunade reached across her desk and grabbed Shizune by the collar of her kimono. "Why didn't you tell me the Kazekage was coming? You're supposed to put all these things on my calendar! Don't make me fire you Shizune! Cause' I will!" she yelled, shaking her assistant furiously.

"I did not inform anyone of my arrival Tsunade-sama." Gaara spoke up, feeling a bit of pity for the poor woman.

Putting her captive down slowly, Tsunade gave him a confused look. "Oh. Then why the sudden visit? Surely you didn't come all this way just to see my apprentice." She said, chuckling slightly. She actually wouldn't put it past the redhead if he came just for that reason.

"Of course I did," he said, trying his best to contain his happiness at seeing the love of his life. It had been too long since he had been with her last. "So I must ask, if I may steal her from you for the day."

Sakura got out of her chair immediately at his words. Running up to her mentor, she grabbed the older woman's arm and tugged on it, giving her a look a child would give its mother when asking for a puppy. "Please Shishou? Can I go?"

Laughing at her student's antics, Tsunade nodded. "Of course Sakura. I wouldn't dream of keeping you from him. The consequences could be severe." She joked, though what she said was true.

The pink haired woman ran into her lover's arms then, giving him a bright smile. "What are we gonna do today?" she asked, not really caring, as long as she got to be with him.

"You'll see," he told her, leaning down to her and kissing her temple.

Shizune smiled happily, watching the two as they left. "Oh Tsunade-sama, isn't that just amazing? I'm so glad that Sakura has the Kazekage."

"Yeah, yeah. Young love and whatnot. Now leave me alone so I can finish my nap." The Hokage grumbled. She truly was happy for her apprentice, but it wasn't in her nature to express it openly.

* * *

Gaara led Sakura through the village, catching up with what had happened since they last saw each other. He was in complete bliss. Her presence soothed him into a peace he thought he would never know. "I've missed you," he admitted, giving her a soft peck on the lips.

"And I you." She replied, a goofy smile on her face. She didn't think she would ever get used Gaara being hers. Quite honestly, she was glad that she could finally kiss him whenever she wanted, and not have to worry about what he or others would think of it.

By now they had wandered towards the village's park, where cherry blossom trees filled the area, their pink petals already beginning to fall to the ground, since autumn was upon them. He led her towards a red wooden bridge that crossed over a small stream that ran through the area. He stopped at the top, making her halt as well. Gaara took both her hands in his and smiled down at her.

"Sakura…I love you…" he said softly.

"I love you too Gaara." she smiled, the nervous look on his face making her a bit worried. Suddenly her stomach sank. Was he going to tell her that they should no longer be together? Could it be the distance? Or was it his stupid council?

He took in a deep breath, worry all over his face. Keeping her hands in his he kneeled down, letting one of her hands fall free. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small black box, opening it to reveal the beautiful ring. "Sakura…I can't stand this distance…I love you so much, and I want to be with you always. You are my light in the dark and the beating in my heart. Will you…please do me the greatest honor of becoming my wife?" he asked, swallowing hard at the slim possibility she might say no.

She stood there, speechless. He wanted her to marry him? "Are you sure?" she asked, uncertain. "Because, I can be demanding at times. And I know I'll do things that upset you. And, what if-"

"Sakura." He said, effectively halting her rant. "It's a yes or no question." He smiled then, trying to show her he wasn't mad, he just wanted an answer.

She blushed, seeing the truth in his statement. "Oh, you're right. Sorry." Her eyes began to water, then, from all the joy in her heart. "Of course I'll marry you Gaara. I'd be a fool if I said no."

His smile grew as he stood, sliding the ring onto her left ring finger. She jumped up excitedly, wrapping her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist, kissing him deeply and more passionately than she ever had before. Placing his arms around her so he could support her, he returned her kiss, pulling away only to tell her how much he loved her.

Placing her hands on his cheeks, she smiled into his face tenderly. "How is it that you've made almost all of my dreams come true in such a short amount of time?"

He laughed, finally setting her down to her feet and giving her another kiss before standing erect. "I don't know. I like making you happy so I try to is all." He shrugged, his persona so much different than it had been when she first arrived in Suna. "Now…I'm sure you want to tell your friends but…you know how they get, so promise me that you will handle it carefully and calmly," he said, taking her hands once more and kissing both.

"Of course. You know I always handle delicate situations with the utmost care." She replied with a smile.

"Alright, good." He nodded, leading her off then. "Why don't we go tell the Hokage first…and then she can send out a messenger to collect all your friends. We could go out, some place nice. Anywhere you want."

Her smile grew wider. "That sounds like a great idea. Shishou will be so happy when she hears the news."

* * *

"You're getting what?" the blonde Hokage yelled in disbelief.

Holding up her left hand, Sakura smiled at her sensei. "Married!" she said with a squeal.

Tsunade reached out and snatched her student from the redhead's arm. "You can't marry him! I forbid it!" she said forcefully. She turned her glare to the redhead. "How dare you try to take my star pupil from me? I will fight you for her!" she yelled at the irritated man.

"Shishou, knock it off!" Sakura yelled, struggling in her master's firm grasp, trying to stop the destruction before it happened.

"Quiet Sakura. This is between me and the boy." Tsunade said, shushing down her student.

"Excuse me?" Gaara yelled, his eye twitching. He was most certainly not a mere _boy_! 'I beg your pardon? I am twenty-one years old, and I am the Kazekage. The last time I checked, I did not need consent from you! Now stand down or you will seriously regret this Tsunade!" he ordered, grabbing Sakura by the arm and ripping her from the blonde's grasp. Now that he had Sakura, there was nothing in the world that would ever prevent her from being with him.

Now the Hokage was angry, as was clearly shown by her expression. One that was Sakura had seen many a time before someone was punched through a wall. "You sure as hell _do_ need my consent! I am the closest thing Sakura has to a mother, since her parents are dead. The _least_ you could do is show some respect for your elders." She said, grabbing Sakura's arm and using a bit of chakra in order to take the girl back again.

Gaara shoved Sakura behind him, his sand shooting out of his gourd and swarming around the Hokage, threatening to attack. "How about you show some respect Hokage? Show respect to your equal! I am a Kage too, and you have done nothing but insult me since the moment you heard the news!"

Getting fed up with this shouting and tug-of-war match, Sakura walked between the two. "Will you two shut up! I am not some object to be fought over!" she yelled, startling the two Kages. Turning to her teacher, she said, "I will marry Gaara whether you approve of it or not Tsunade-shishou. It's _my_ life." Then, she turned to Gaara, her next words wiping the smug smirk off his face. "And you _should_ have gotten her permission, if you wanted to ask me properly." Looking at both of them, she crossed her arms. "Now apologize to each other, or I'm gonna get _really_ angry."

"I'm not apologizing to that old hag!" Gaara told her, pointing at the older woman. "Why should I have to ask permission to marry you? Every time I come here all she does is call me a child."

"How dare you call me a hag! I am the epitome of beauty. And to me, you will always be a child. Your behavior right now only supports my statement." The blonde said as she crossed her arms, a smug look on her face.

"Oh really? The epitome of beauty?" he arched what could be seen as a brow, crossing his arms arrogantly. "And that jutsu you use to keep yourself looking young has nothing to do with it?"

"Of course not! Where did you hear such slander?" she asked, clearly offended.

Tired of all the arguing, Sakura threw her arms in the air in defeat. "That's it! I'm going home, where I can enjoy my engagement in peace! If you two are going to kill each other, do it where half the village won't get destroyed in the process." Then she made her way to the door. "By the way, Shishou, send out a messenger to all of my friends inviting them to dinner tonight. Tell them to meet me at that new restaurant near the Hyuuga Compound at seven sharp." Then she left the room.

"Now look what you've done!" Tsunade yelled, pointing an accusing finger at him.

"What I've done?" Gaara glared hatefully at her. "This is your fault dinosaur. Why can't you just be happy for her?" but she could clearly see the meaning behind his words. _Why couldn't you just be happy for me?_ It was true. It was extremely surprising that the Kazekage had gone to such great lengths just to visit Sakura. And, as far as she knew, he had respected her wishes to wait until they did anything serious.

"I don't understand what the problem is…" he finally said, deciding that he really needed to suck it up since this woman was Sakura's teacher. His hands tightened into fists and he looked away, off to the ground. "Tsunade-sama…" he strained out. "What I am asking is…for your permission…to marry Sakura. I love her…please do not keep her from me."

Tsunade sighed in defeat. She knew now that he was serious about the whole thing, and felt bad for causing such a fuss. "You had it the moment you stood up to me…Gaara-sama." She said respectfully. "I just worry. I will miss her dearly. I meant what I said when I told you she was like a daughter to me. If Dan and I ever had a child…well….I would have wanted it to be like her." She whispered softly. Then, before she could be called soft, she glared at him. "Do not tell _anyone_ I said that, or I will kill you." She threatened, not really meaning it, but her point was still made.

"Tsunade I understand. But realize, you are talking to someone who does not ever reveal weakness. It is safe with me and I promise that I will protect Sakura…I love her and I will make sure we visit so that you can see her." He nodded, giving her a small bow of respect that he would never again demonstrate to her.

"Oh and Gaara, do not _ever_ call me a hag or dinosaur again." She said, a small smile on her lips.

"Whatever slug," he turned his back towards her and gave her a small wave. With that he left the room to go and find Sakura so they could ready for the night he knew would be just…awful.

* * *

Sakura led the reluctant redhead towards the restaurant. He was mentally preparing himself for the onslaught that was about to happen. When they walked in, it was easy to find the large group of ninjas. And _everyone_ was there. Naruto, Hinata, Kiba, Ino, Neji, Tenten, Temari, Shikamaru, Lee, Choji, Shino, Sai, and even Sasuke, sat at a large table. Now Gaara wasn't exactly too happy about that, but he figured his mood would quickly change once the Uchiha found out Sakura was his.

They stopped at the table and located their seats. Just as Gaara was about to sit down, a huge squeal emitted from his pink haired fiancé. "I'm getting married!" she yelled, holding up her left hand to show off the ring that now adorned it.

Suddenly the whole table turned to chaos. All of the girls ran towards Sakura to see the ring, while the guys merely sat in their chairs, dumbfound. Some of them looked happy, others like they couldn't care less, and one like he was about to murder someone.

Naruto jumped from his seat and tackled the unsuspecting redhead. "GAARA! How could you? You didn't tell me you were going to propose! You didn't even tell me you were coming to Konoha!" the blonde cried loudly, shaking his friend senseless.

"Naruto!" the redhead yelled, shoving him off. 'I _never_ tell you when I'm coming to Konoha!"

On the other side of Gaara, Ino was all squeals for her friend. "Forehead! I'm so happy for you! When is the wedding?" she asked.

"As soon as possible." Both she and Gaara answered at the same time.

"No! You shall not have the cherry blossom!" An all too familiar voice yelled. Sakura groaned and slapped her forehead with the palm of her hand. Not this. Not now.

Suddenly, Rock Lee was standing in the middle of the table, pointing a finger at the frustrated redhead. "I challenge you to the rights of wedding the beautiful Sakura-san! You are now my lifelong rival!" the spandex clad boy declared.

"You have _got_ to be kidding me." Gaara groaned. Before anything else could happen, Lee jumped at Gaara yelling loudly.

"Leaf hurricane!" he spun around, aiming a kick at Gaara, whose sand rose up instantly to defend its master. The grains wrapped tightly around the odd man's foot and threw him across the room, hitting the wall with a hard smack, and fortunately not damaging much anything.

Jumping up with renewed vigor, Lee made another dash for the redhead, only to stop in his tracks when Sakura stood in his way. "Sakura-san! What are you doing?" The fuzzy browed ninja asked.

"Lee, this is _my_ engagement dinner, and you are ruining it with your nonsense. Do you want to make me upset?" she asked, putting on a pout.

He put his hands in front of him to assuage her. "No! Of course not Sakura-san! I am just using the right of challenge for your hand in marriage."

"Well, I wouldn't marry you if you were the last man on this earth! Now if you don't knock it off, I'm going to punch you out of this restaurant, and ban you from coming to my wedding!" she yelled, highly irritated.

Hanging his head in shame, tears running down his face, Lee slowly made his way back to his seat. "Yes, Sakura-san. As you wish."

She sighed in relief, and turned to her fiancé, smiling. "Crisis one: averted." She joked.

"Yeah…" he sighed, knowing there was only more to come. Finally everyone made it back to their seats and began chatting amiably. The waitress and the waiter catering their table were quick and efficient, congratulating Sakura as they passed out the drinks.

Kiba took a large gulp of his lemonade, wiping his mouth and laughing loudly, "Naw, you guys this isn't news to us. In Suna, Gaara and Sakura practically did it on the dance floor. With a sultry tango." He snickered, making Gaara go wide eyed.

"Not to mention Naruto said he saw them doing erotic things in his office at the Kazekage Tower." Kiba pointed out, making Neji spit out his iced tea all over Tenten.

Sakura looked at Gaara pointedly. "You kill Kiba, and I'll get Naruto." Not waiting for a response, she got up and put the blonde jinchuuriki in a chokehold. "Naruto! What did I say about you keeping your mouth shut if you ever wanted to play that game Gaara and I were playing?" she asked, murderous intent pouring from her in waves.

"N-now now Sakura-chan! I didn't know Kiba was gonna blab! It was just a secret between buddies ya know? Don't get so angry!" Naruto said, trying in vain to save himself.

"You and I have been friends longer. I didn't know that the relationship between friends meant something different to you." She whispered, somewhat hurt.

"No! It doesn't Sakura-chan! It's just-" and before he could finish, Sakura had already thrown him out the door and into the street. Hopefully, it would be a while before he came back in. Turning to a stunned Hinata, she apologized.

"I hope you'll excuse me for my rude behavior Hinata. But I'm sure he'll be fine…when he wakes up."

The ebony haired girl merely shook her head. "At this point Sakura, I have come to expect Naruto-kun to be injured at least three times a day from something he did or said."

Sakura laughed at the other woman's admission, and looked over to see how Gaara was faring with Kiba. To her surprise, the brunette and the redhead were deep in conversation. Finally, she picked up on what they were saying.

"Yeah, when you start out you gotta go nice and slow, cause' the ladies like to get used to it. But then once they're all fit, they get pretty wild!" Kiba snickered, obviously having experience in this field, because Ino was beet red.

"Is that so," Gaara nodded, needing as much information on this process as possible.

"For sure. Then once they get all _adjusted_ it just becomes passion and sweat and MAN is it sweet! Especially when they start making noi-"

"Kiba!" Ino shrieked, hitting him over the head with her empty plate.

"Gaara!" Sakura yelled as well, smacking him on the back of his head with her hand.

"Ow!" they both yelled in unison, rubbing their heads to try and sooth the pain. "What?" they demanded, once again together.

Placing her hands on her hips, Sakura raised a brow at the redhead. "You were supposed to be punishing Kiba for what he was saying. Not asking for tips! Oh my God!" she yelled, red with embarrassment.

"I was only asking because I want it to be good for you when we actually do it," he explained, trying to get her to see the reasoning, but she only got darker.

"Yeah Sakura, I was just giving him some tips on making it more pleasurable for you!" the brunette said.

"Shut up Kiba!" she said tersely. Leaning in closer to Gaara, she whispered, "You've done pretty well on your own so far. I see no reason why you won't when it actually happens." She said, now crimson at her admission.

Gaara blinked, going a bit red himself. "But Sakura…I've never…we've never gotten there. I want it to be perfect for you." He said simply. Kiba leaned, over intent on joining in on the conversation.

"Gaara I'm sure you're a born natural, and Sakura's most likely just your size." The dog lover snickered, making Gaara go wide eyed and dark red.

Before he could say anything more, Sakura punched him square in the face, effectively knocking him out for the rest of the meal. Turning back to Gaara, she smiled, still a bit red. "He doesn't have to come to the wedding either."

"I don't know…I kinda wanted him to come…I am trying to get friends now." He sighed, looking down at the poor guy.

"So Gaara, Sakura," Temari began, the waiters now bringing out all the orders they had swiftly taken. Her salad was set in front of her and she tossed a tomato in her mouth. "When do you plan on making babies?"

Turning red once more, Sakura placed her hand behind her head, embarrassed. "Actually Temari, we haven't discussed it. He only asked me this morning after all."

It didn't go unnoticed that the mention of children made Gaara extremely uncomfortable and nervous. Temari laughed and started eating then. Neji and Tenten were trying to ignore the awkward banter. Thank god nothing like this had happened when they got married.

The conversations returned to normal as everyone started eating, until Sasuke slammed his fork down and glared at the redhead across the long row of tables. "This is ridiculous Sakura! You're marrying _him_?"

"Yes I'm marrying him Sasuke. Do you have a problem with it?" she asked, raising an angry brow as she got a forkful of her salad and took a bite.

Gaara decided to let Sakura handle this, since he really didn't care what the Uchiha had to say. He was the victor in the end, and he had worked hard for Sakura. He knew he had nothing to worry about. "Yes I do. You do realize you're going to have to _leave_ Konoha and all your friends. Do you _really_ want to live in a desert?" he smirked crossing his arms in victory. He knew Sakura would never be able to leave her home, she had too many attachments to this village. And those kinds of things were important to her.

Kiba recovered immediately, slamming his hands on the table. "Whoa! No dissing Suna! Suna is awesome!"

"I can always visit, and so can you. Besides, my home is wherever Gaara is, and if that just happens to be in a desert, then so be it. I like it there anyways." She said, crossing her arms.

Gaara smirked silently, focusing on his meal and watching the battle of words. "Enough!" Sasuke growled, standing from his seat and marching out of the restaurant just as Naruto was entering again.

Scratching the back of his head, Naruto asked, "So…what'd I miss?" only to be completely ignored by everyone who was trying to finish their meal without anything else happening.

After everyone had finished their meals, Gaara took care of the bill, and they all headed out into the street.

"Well we have an early day tomorrow," Neji said calmly.

Tenten nodded, waving them all goodbye, "Congratulations Sakura. You too Gaara, see you both tomorrow." And with that the two disappeared around the corner.

Choji, Lee, and Shino waved goodbye as well, taking their leave soon after. "Well I'm off too," Temari snickered, latching onto Shikamaru's arm. "I'm staying at Shika's so tah tah!" And before he could even utter 'How troublesome', he was dragged off towards his apartment.

Sakura smiled at this. "I told you she would find someone." She said, elbowing Gaara in the side. Giving her nothing but a low growl, they left the other two couples and headed towards Sakura's house, since it was getting pretty late.

When they made it to her door, she turned and gave him a light peck on the cheek. "Goodnight Gaara. I'll see you in the morning." Then she began to fish her house key out of her pocket. Finding the key, she pulled it out to unlock the door.

He stared at her in confusion. "What do you mean?"

Now it was her turn to be confused. "What do you mean what do I mean? It's late, and I'm going to bed."

"Don't pretend like you don't know." He glared at her slightly. "You said, 'I'll see you in the morning' like we would not be sleeping together tonight."

"We aren't." she said, giving him a blank stare.

"Why?" he tried to remain calm but his cool was slipping fast.

She sighed, knowing that she should have expected this. "I got you a room at a hotel down the street."

"Did you now?" he arched a brow and watched her carefully.

"Yes. I didn't want to chance either of us….um…losing control…if you know what I mean." She said, rocking on her heels nervously.

Not answering her with words he stepped closer to her, lowering his face to hers so they were but a lips' distance away. "I understand Sakura," he smiled, moving closer to kiss her goodnight. Before their lips met he moved his hand to her back and lifted her over his shoulder, kicking in her door and slamming it behind him. He walked down the hall, his sand securing the locks on the door. Once he was in her bedroom he threw her to the bed and pulled off his shirt before slipping off his shoes.

Bouncing when she hit the mattress, she rolled and recovered quickly. "Gaara! What are you doing?"

"What does it look like I'm doing?" he asked simply, getting on the bed with her and holding her down. He moved her hands above her head, an evil smirk plastered on his face. With his free hand he pulled her shoes off and then removed her tan skirt. Finally he released her, pulling her up to him.

"Um…not…what I thought you were doing…" she trailed off, turning red.

"I don't understand…" he looked at her oddly, "You said you didn't want to do that until you were married, but that means I cannot sleep with you?"

"Oh. Well, I didn't want to tempt you…or myself…" she said, not making eye contact with him, her face a deep red.

He sighed, getting up then and looking for his shirt, "Well if you don't want me to stay with you I won't."

She sat up, startled at his change in attitude. "No! I mean, since you're here you might as well stay." Patting the space next to her invitingly, she gave him a pleading look. "I _really_ want you to stay." She said, hoping she made her point.

He turned around, now with his arms crossed. He looked disappointed and doubtful of her plea. "Look Sakura, I don't want to make it hard for you if it really is, so it's fine. I'll just see you tomorrow."

"I was just trying to be helpful!" Looking down into her lap, at the ring on her finger, she sighed dejectedly. "If you want to go that's fine, but, I wanted to see you, since it's been so long, and I've missed you so much." She said, fingering her new ring.

He huffed, looking away from her. He would not be swayed by her manipulative ways. "Don't manipulate the situation to your liking Sakura. I know exactly what you're trying to do. Trying to make me feel bad for not caving, you were the one to tell me to leave." He reminded her.

"It's not like I wanted you to sleep somewhere else! I just didn't want to start something that we couldn't finish. It would be impossible for me to say no to you if that was what you wanted. But, as long as we're clear, you can stay." She said, still pouting somewhat.

He faced her once again and sighed, "It's a little offending Sakura that you think I wouldn't keep your wishes. I haven't pushed that on you since you told me to wait, have I?" he questioned.

"No." she admitted, feeling ashamed. "But it wasn't you I was worried about. You know how I get when I _really_ want something." She said, turning pink at her admission.

"And you don't trust me enough to stop you?" he countered, still remaining in his spot.

"Well, I can be really persuasive when I want something bad enough." A small smile appeared on her lips.

He laughed, letting his eyes lock with hers. "Sakura do you _really_ think you would win in a battle of the wills? Hm?" he moved forward, leaning over and placing both his hands on the bed.

"If it's to get you to break down and touch me then yes, I will definitely win." She replied, her smile turning mischievous.

"Well then, now that I know. I will just have to do the only thing I can to make sure you don't get your way." He moved back then, grabbing his shirt and his shoes, the sand flowing around him visibly. It was actually very odd though, because usually he would have disappeared by now.

She leapt off the bed and tackled him to the ground. Straddling his waist, she placed both of her hands on the side of his head. "Don't you dare leave this room! You are going to come to bed with me this instant!" she demanded, sitting back and crossing her arms.

He laughed, staring up at her, not minding at all that she was on top of him. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her against him. "Alright then, we can go to sleep now." He said lovingly, getting up and picking her up with him. He took her to the bed and laid her down, taking his place on top of her. "Ready for bed, Sabaku no Sakura?" he asked, leaning down and kissing her forehead and then both her temples. Finally he moved down to her neck, leaving tiny love marks all the way to her collar bone.

She gasped at his ministrations. "I really like the sound of that." She said, wrapping her legs around his waist in order to bring him closer to her.

"So do I." he mumbled into the crook of her neck. He really, _really_ liked it. Wanting to take it a step further, he grabbed the zipper to her shirt and yanked it down, revealing her bare stomach and the small black cloth covering her top.

She giggled. Giving him a small push, she said, "See what I meant about temptation?"

"No, I'm just looking at what will be rightly mine." He explained, getting closer than he was the first time and letting his hand trail down her stomach.

She raked her nails down his stomach lightly, causing his breath to hitch. "Well, you need to stop, before I jump you again." She said, smiling into his intense gaze.

"How can you jump me when I am on top of you?" he asked, another devious smirk coming to his face.

"Simple. I will use the strength I am famous for, except, this time I will be using it for evil." She replied with a smirk of her own.

He sat up then, grabbing her hips and sliding her up the bed so her head landed on one of the pillows. "Well since I know where that leads, I'll put a stop to it now." He smiled, crawling beside her and kissing her forehead once again. "Now go to sleep sex addict." He teased, getting settled beneath the sheets.

"Humph." She crossed her arms. "Can't be addicted to something if you won't give it to me first." She rolled on her side, and crawled beneath the covers.

"Wah, wah," he mocked, his sand flipping off the light switch. "Now get over here, and fall asleep." He ordered, leaving his arms open for her.

She crawled into them eagerly, not caring that her shirt was somewhere on the floor. Soon, things like that wouldn't matter anymore. "Goodnight Gaara. I love you."

He tightened his grip around her and buried his face in her hair. "I love you too Sakura…I always will."

Shortly after that, the two fell asleep in each other's arms, their first day as an engaged couple over and done with.


	3. Spa Day

**Typhoon**

_Chapter Three_

-Spa Day-

The first thing Sakura saw when she woke up the next day was Gaara's sleeping face. She smiled to herself. He looked so peaceful in sleep. Not wanting to wake him up, she carefully disentangled her legs from his. Crawling off the bed, she made her way to the bathroom in order to get a shower.

Closing the bathroom door softly, she walked over to the shower and turned on the water. While she waited for it to heat up, she brushed her teeth. After that, she undressed and got in, sighing at how great the warm water felt against her skin. She reached over and grabbed her strawberry body wash. She hoped Gaara slept through her shower, having just remembered that she forgot to bring clothes into the bathroom. It would be embarrassing if she got caught sneaking around her bedroom in nothing but a towel.

Unknown to Sakura, Gaara had woken up the moment she tried to get out of bed unnoticed. He had just pretended to be asleep, seeing what she would do. And she did not disappoint. He thought about the things he could do in this situation. He could leave her alone so she could shower. Or he could mess with her, and he was always one for messing with people. Getting out of bed, Gaara made his way over to the bathroom door. He slowly and silently turned the knob and opened it. He could hear the rushing water and humming coming from his future wife.

What to do? What to do? He crept up to the curtain, only seeing her silhouette. He stopped, a small blush coming to his face. This was actually pretty big, he had never seen Sakura _that_ naked before. What if she got mad at him? Shrugging, he decided to deal with the consequences later. Coming right next to the curtain, he could tell by her outline that her back was too him. He took in a silent breath and then yelled. "BOO!"

She quickly turned to see who was in the bathroom with her, a startled yell escaping from her lips. What she didn't count on though, was the fact that the bottom of the tub was really slick from the water and soap. Slipping, she flailed her arms out, screaming again in alarm. In an attempt to catch herself, she grabbed onto the shower curtain, ripping it from the rings that held it up.

Everything happened in slow motion after that. Gaara caught her naked body in his arms, while she covered herself in the ripped shower curtain. Then, they just stared at each other dumbly, while the water continued to run in the background. Her face was beet red of course, and in this one instant, she was too embarrassed to be angry.

"Um…" he paused, obviously not knowing what to say. "You're naked." He said dumbly, mentally slapping himself already. He couldn't help from staring at her body. It was flawless and smooth, with curves in the right places. He wasn't one for busty chests, which meant Sakura's body was like perfection.

She tried to cover herself with her arms, really embarrassed now. "How nice of you to notice." She said, trying really hard not to blow up at him. She wanted their first few days as an engaged couple to go smoothly, but it appeared that that was never meant to be.

Of course, Gaara came up with another genius reply. "You're really pretty." Again he mentally slapped himself across the face. Could he get any more idiotic? He released her from his grip, holding onto her arm as she stood up just to make sure she didn't fall again.

Completely wrapping the curtain around herself, she turned off the water, not wanting to waste it. Taking a deep breath, she began to count backwards from ten, left eye twitching the whole time. Turning to him, she took another breath, and began to speak slowly, as if she was considering every word she was going to say. "Just tell me…what in the world possessed you to do that." She asked.

"I'm…not sure." He blinked, trying not to stare at her form.

"Well," she said, beginning to walk past him and into her bedroom, intent on grabbing her clothes. "I hope you enjoyed the view, because you are _not_ going to see that again until after we are married."

He let his eyes trail down her back, a dark laugh ringing through her ears. "According to you." He stated, letting his hands fall to his sides.

She stopped in her tracks, and turned to face him slowly. "Excuse me?"

"I didn't stutter," he smirked, not bothering to hide his lustful gaze. "You heard what I said."

She really wanted to yell at him, but felt that he expected that of her. So, she walked towards him slowly, swaying her hips in a seductive fashion. "Is that so?" she asked, raising a brow. Pressing against him, she rose up on her tiptoes and whispered in his ear. "Well, in that case, you can look, but you won't be allowed to touch, _at all_." She emphasized, before turning around and leaving him alone in the bathroom.

"At all?" he whined, hiding his mischievous grin behind a sad frown. "But Sakura, if I can't touch you at all…" he stopped, grabbing the shower curtain and ripping it from her body. Then he threw it behind him and into the tub. He grabbed her, pressing her whole frame against his. And man, he could feel _everything_. He felt the blush start on his face but repressed the heat and kept his cocky smirk in place. "Then how am I doing this?"

Sakura gasped, a blush spreading across her face and down her neck. She wanted to pull away, in order to cover herself, but doing so would allow him to see her. She had been this close to him before, but, in all those times, she had never been so _bare_. She glanced behind him, seeing the towel rack within reach. But the only way to get it was through him. So, she linked her arms behind his head and jumped up, wrapping her legs around his waist. Then she pressed even more into him, reaching for the towel that was hanging on the rack. Grabbing a hold of it, she made a sound of triumph. Unwinding her legs, she slid down his body and planted her feet back on the ground. She smirked at him, and wrapped the towel around her back. This way, when she got away from him, she could immediately cover herself back up.

"I don't know Gaara. I guess in a similar way that I just did that." She said smugly, proud of her feat.

He could feel his body still reacting from her actions. He couldn't believe what she had done. It felt like his body was on fire, almost as if he still had the demon within him and it was trying to break out. Grabbing her waist with both his hands he pushed her back, walking with her towards the bed until finally she fell backwards, flat on her back with the towel between her and the bed, so not very effective in this situation.

Gaara felt the smirk crawl over his face, there was no embarrassment this time. No nervousness to be found. He could see her entire body now, lying beneath him, and he sure as hell wasn't letting this situation slip. Before she could attempt to cover herself he pinned her arms down beside her head and kissed her hard on the lips. "Sakura," he whispered huskily, setting his knee between her legs so she could do nothing to fight him. He kissed her cheek then, slowly trailing down her throat and stopping at her collar bone. He wanted to go further down, and it wasn't as if she would stop him.

She gasped, caught totally unawares. "Gaara! S-stop!" she said, arching into his touch, not really meaning it.

Her words seemed to snap him back to his normal sense. When he looked down he immediately jerked away from her, doing an about face so that his back was now the only thing she could see. "Sakura…I'm…I'm sorry." He said quickly, leaving her room and slamming the door behind him.

She sat up on the bed and took a shaky breath. Her body still felt as if it was on fire. Everywhere. Quickly she stood and got dressed, knowing that right now, Gaara needed to be reassured that everything was okay. Opening her bedroom door, she made her way to the living room, finding him sitting on her couch, a pained look on his face. "Gaara….?" She said hesitantly, unsure on how he would react.

He glanced over at her, focusing his gaze back on the table filled with pictures of her and her friends. "I'm sorry Sakura, please forgive me. Tonight I am just going to stay in the Kazekage's Suite. I don't want to do that to you anymore." He said solidly, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees. He covered his face with his hands, not knowing what to do with himself. Maybe he wasn't ready to control his emotions. They seemed to be controlling him more often than naught.

"Do what to me?" she asked, confused at his choice of words.

"I don't know what happened, I practically sexually attacked you." He said harshly, trying to watch his tone the best he could. "You were right…I cannot control myself. So I will not be staying with you." He informed her sadly, not meeting her gaze even once.

"It's not your fault! I should have been more careful when I was in the shower. If I hadn't slipped then none of this would have ever happened." She said, desperately pleading with him.

"Sakura please," Gaara stood, looking at her for the first time now. "It's not good if you want to keep what you said you wanted. It was my fault from the beginning, so I'll just do as you requested. It's fine." He told her flatly. He was not leaving it up for debate anymore. She had been right, and he had been a fool to think he could control himself around her.

She sighed, seeing that she might not get her way this time. Damn her and her thinking ahead. "I shouldn't have tempted you the way I did. Maybe…maybe we could try it again. This time though, we agree not to tempt the other in such a way." She said, grasping for straws.

Gaara actually laughed, obviously doubtful of her idea. "Yeah Sakura, because that has worked _so_ well in the past."

She huffed and crossed her arms. "Well, all you have to do is not scare me when I'm in the shower, or touch me the way you do,…or kiss me so passionately…."she trailed off, seeing what he was talking about. She dropped her arms and gave him a defeated look. "Nevermind. I'd rather have to stay apart from you at night then give up one moment of your touch." She said.

"That's fine…it won't be for too long…right?" he gave her a sad smile. He walked towards her and took her face gently in his hands, kissing her forehead lovingly. "I would wait a thousand years if I had too," he whispered down to her. "I'm going to go shower and change at my suite…how about you meet me in front of the Hokage Tower in an hour?"

"Okay." She said, smiling up at him. Then she became serious. "One month. That is the longest I am willing to wait. If we aren't married by then, come hell or high water, I _will_ have you."

He laughed and placed another kiss on her temple. "Until then," he nodded, releasing her and heading up the stairs to collect his things. His presence soon vanished, and she knew he wouldn't be coming back down.

* * *

After Sakura brushed her hair out and dried it she was ready to go. So she locked up her apartment and headed towards the Hokage Tower. About halfway there she saw Temari and Shikamaru down the road. "Temari! Shikamaru!" she yelled, waving at them.

"Hey Sakura!" the blonde yelled back.

The pink haired woman ran up to them. "What are you guys doing?"

"Actually, we were looking for you." Shikamaru said lazily, clearly uninterested.

She raised a brow, confused. "Why?"

"Well, Shika and I are going to go to the spa, and we wanted to know if you and Gaara could come with us!" Temari said gleefully.

"You mean _you_ wanted to know if they could come." The pineapple haired ninja pointed out, going ignored by both women.

"I'd love to! I was just on my way to meet Gaara now!" Sakura beamed, and led the way.

They arrived at the tower shortly after, where Gaara stood waiting impatiently for her. He looked over and annoyance washed over his face. He did not look happy about her two new companions. She ran up to him, excited about the possibility of going to a spa with her fiancé. "Gaara guess what? Temari and Shikamaru are going to the spa and they want us to come with them! Can we go?" she asked excitedly.

"You're asking me…if I _want_ to go to a spa with you?" he asked, arching what could be a brow. "Isn't that where women go to get pretty?"

"Well, kinda. But men can go there too. I mean, Shikamaru is going with us." She stated.

"Yeah, but I've been questioning Shikamaru's sexuality since we were thirteen," the red haired ninja said, looking completely serious.

Shikamaru actually glared over at the Kazekage, though not saying anything to offend him. Sakura couldn't help but snicker at his admission. "Well, he's probably going to get the couple's massage. They offer really good packages on things like that."

This seemed to spark his interest. "Couple's massage?" he wondered aloud, thinking on what that could possibly mean. It must be Sakura giving him a massage and then him to her. A smile crept up his face. He remembered the last time Sakura had given him a backrub and boy, was it nice. "Alright." He agreed.

Now it was Shikamaru's turn to snicker to himself, knowing where the young Kazekage's mind was. But, just for the crack about his sexuality, he would keep the true knowledge of the massages to himself.

It didn't take long to arrive at the spa. When they walked in, Temari went straight to the desk. Apparently she had made reservations the day before. A lady came out of the back then, and asked them to follow her. Walking through a series of halls, they stopped in front of a room. Turning to them, the lady said, "Here is the room for the first couple."

"That would be us." Temari said, before she and Shikamaru disappeared behind the door.

Then, Sakura and Gaara were led to a room further down the hall. "Here is the second room." The woman told them, before leaving. Entering the room, Sakura went over to the opposite side. She pushed open a shoji screen, opening the room into an adjoining side. Then, she walked back around, and handed him a towel.

"Here. You're going to want to strip down and put this on." She said, and began to walk back towards the screen.

He stared at her oddly, looking then to the wall. "Um, what's that for?" he pointed to the divider.

"This is your side, and that's mine." She stated, expecting him to understand what that meant.

"Sides?"

"Yeah. You get your massage over here, while at the same time I get mine on the other side." Sakura explained further.

"What?" he tried not to shout but failed miserably. "I didn't know that we would be separated!"

She placed her hands on her hips. "We won't really be separated. You and I will be able to talk to each other through the screen." Then she walked over to her side and shut it. "I would suggest you change now, before your masseuse comes in. When you finish just get on the table and lay on your stomach."

He growled in protest but began to remove his clothing. He was extremely uncomfortable with this. He wrapped the towel around his waist and sat on the table. _Just relax_, he told himself. _Just relax_.

On the other side of the screen Sakura had already undressed and laid herself on the table, placing the towel halfway down her back. A few minutes later the door opened, revealing a man and a woman. The man walked across the room and into Sakura's while the woman stayed in his.

Gaara glared threateningly at the man who disappeared behind the screen. _Oh you've got to be kidding me_, he thought, but growled aloud. The woman stepped in front of him and smiled professionally. "Hello Kazekage-sama, my name is Ami, and I will be your masseuse today. Is there anything I can do to make you more comfortable?"

_Yeah, leave and take that man with you_, he glared but tried to be nice. "No, I'm fine." He muttered. She gestured for him to lie on his stomach. Reluctantly following her instructions, he did so.

On Sakura's side of the room things went a lot differently. "Hello Ichiro, how have you been?" she asked politely.

He smiled down at her. "I've been doing very well Sakura-san. It's been so long since you last came in, I was starting to think that you wouldn't come back." He replied teasingly.

She shrugged. "I'd never leave you clueless like that Ichiro! I've just been really busy lately."

Lathering his hands with some oil, he began on her back. "I can tell, you're tense! I'll have to rub you harder this time, so be prepared."

"Do what you gotta do. I'll be happy as long as all the knots are out." She replied, closing her eyes and losing herself to the sensations of her deep tissue massage.

Gaara glared hatefully at the screen between them. He did _not_ like the sound of that conversation. Why was Sakura being so lax about where a man touched her? Fury erupted inside of the steaming redhead. Ami, not noticing his murderous aura, began to work on his shoulders. "Haha. Kazekage-sama your shoulders are like rocks, you seem very tense as well. Is something the matter?" she wondered, trying to go a bit lower into his back to work out all the stress. The moment her hand moved beneath his shoulder blade he flipped.

"WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?" he yelled, jerking away from her and falling onto the floor. He stood up quickly, trying to regain his dignity. "Inappropriately touching me!" he pointed accusingly, having to hold his towel up with one of his hands.

"But sir, I didn't…I was only trying to work your knots out." She blinked, seriously confused. She had only touched his back.

"GAARA! CHILL OUT AND LET THE WOMAN DO HER JOB!" Sakura yelled through the screen. Sighing exasperatedly, she turned her head back to Ichiro. "See what I have to put up with? That's one of the reasons I'm so tense." She whispered.

The man simply laughed at her admission. "I don't blame you Sakura-san! He sure is a wild one!"

Gaara moved his hand through the air, the sand hovering around him collected together and snuck into the other side of the room. It dissipated near the ground and slid beneath Ichiro's feet, so when he took his next step he slipped and fell face first into the ground, the lotion exploding from the fall.

The redhead smirked, hearing the commotion and slowly got back onto the table, trying to be comfortable with this. Why did people say this eased your body? It made him even more on edge than normal.

"Ichiro! Are you ok? Here, let me help you up." She said, worried that he had injured himself.

He got up quickly, embarrassed. "No thanks Sakura-san! I'm fine." He assured her. He bent over and picked up the lotion. Turning back to her, her put some on her back and resumed rubbing. Hitting a particularly tense spot, he pressed a bit harder.

She gasped, since he hit one of the worst knots on her back. "Go a bit deeper Ichiro, I want to make sure you break up all that muscle." She said.

"Of course, Sakura-san. Anything you wish is my command." He replied, angling himself so that he could be sure he got rid of the whole knot. When it was gone, Sakura groaned softly. She turned her head back to the wall, suspicious of the silence coming from the other side.

"Gaara? How are things going for you?" she asked cautiously.

The screen flew down, taking Ichiro to the floor. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" he demanded, keeping his foot on the man's head, pressing down harder. "Sakura!" he glared up, his aura extremely threatening. "WHAT ARE YOU ALLOWING TO HAPPEN OVER HERE?"

Ami stared in shock, not really knowing what to do. While, face planted in the floor, Ichiro attempted to explain what he was doing. But all you could hear was pained mumbles. Sakura sat up on the table slightly, holding her towel so as not to reveal her chest. "He was just breaking up a really bad knot in my back! What's wrong with you?" she asked, not really understanding the cause of his upset.

"What's wrong with me? What's wrong with you?" he yelled, his glare growing more fiercely. "Letting some man touch you like that!"

"Like what? All he was doing was rubbing my back! It's what he's paid to do!" she yelled at him.

"Exactly! I don't want some guy rubbing your back!"

"Well, if you don't want me to finish my massage, then I guess we should just leave!" she huffed, hopping off the massage table.

"Then let's leave!" he huffed, grabbing his clothing and walking out into the hallway to find some other place to change.

She gave the other masseuses and apologetic look. "I'm sorry, he's new at this." Then she went into a changing room and put her clothes back on. Once she finished, she found the steaming redhead in the lobby, waiting for her.

"I think you were overreacting." She said to him, not bothering to take his arm or hand as she usually did.

"I was not over reacting Sakura. I don't like it when people touch me and you should not either…especially in that way…it makes me uncomfortable." He glared, obviously still mad about the whole situation.

Understanding dawned on her. He was jealous, or…insecure…in a way. But it was sweet, his concern for who touched her. "Let's go." She said, grabbing his hand. She brought him to a small bath shop, and entered without explanation.

He growled, not knowing what she was doing with him now. And she seemed mad, which meant that whatever she was going to do wouldn't be good. "Where are we going?"

"I am going to get some oil and lotion." She said, still not divulging any information.

"For what?" he watched her wearily. What was she up to?

"Since you aren't comfortable with anyone but me touching you, and you don't want any other man but you to touch me, we're just going to have to give each other massages at my house." Grabbing what she needed, she turned to him, brow arched. "Is that okay with you?" she asked, although she could guess at the answer.

He stared at her in shock, really liking the idea. But wouldn't it cause them to become more intimate? Pressing the thoughts aside, he nodded and walked silently with her as she bought the things they needed and went back to her apartment. Once they were inside and she had shut the door, he decided to tell her the awful truth. "Sakura…I don't know how to massage."

She smiled at him, his admission being so adorable, not that she would tell him that. "That's fine Gaara, I can do your back first, and then you can do mine and try to copy what you feel me doing. Now take your shirt off, I'll be right back." She sat the lotion down, and took the oil into the kitchen, heating it a bit in her microwave. She walked back in to find him already laid out on her bed. Grabbing the lotion, she crawled onto the bed and straddled his waist. Lathering her hands with the warm oil she began massaging his shoulders. "All you have to do is rub the person's back and apply slight pressure. Does that feel good, or do you want me to go harder?" she asked.

"Harder." He spoke without hesitation. She was going to have to try and get out a decade's worth of stress. He shut his eyes and let her hands try and smooth out the mess that was his back, all the while keeping in mind everything she was doing so that he could do the same to her. He just hoped he didn't make it painful for her.

"Ok." She said, sending a bit of chakra to her hands. She rubbed his shoulders, and, when she moved lower, found a huge knot. She began to move her hand in a circular motion, trying to get rid of the large tense area. She felt him tense a bit, and decided to tell him about her find. "I found a knot in your back. You probably have tons of them, so don't freak out when you feel this."

She finally got rid of the knot, and moved down his back. Finding three more, she got rid of them quickly. Suddenly, she decided to try something new. Instead of using her chakra for more pressure, she would use healing chakra to sooth and relax the muscles, while she used her own strength. She grabbed the lotion and put some on his back. Then, her hands began to glow a soft green. Starting back up at his shoulders, she leaned forward in order to add more pressure. "How does that feel?" she asked, curious to see if her method was working.

"Good," he mumbled almost incoherently. It felt amazing. It seemed as if she were rubbing his anger away, making him calm. He really, really liked it, but it hadn't felt like this at the spa. First of all having Sakura on top of him, straddling him with her legs was good. Second, her touch was welcomed and not invasive. "So you simply rub them in circular motions until the knot is gone?" he asked, wanting to make sure she was pleased with his later attempt.

"Yes, and add a little pressure too. Sometimes the knots get really deep." She replied, moving to his lower back. After a few minutes, she added a bit more pressure, and went over his back one more time. When she finished, she sat back and wiped her brow. "How was that?" she asked.

He smiled into the bed and turned quickly, so that she was now straddling his front. "It was amazing, but I think I like this better." He placed his hands on her hips, keeping her in place.

She smiled at his tactics. "Yes well, it's my turn now." She said, leaning down to give him a chaste kiss. Sliding off him, she unzipped her shirt and took it off, not caring that he was staring at her. He'd seen her in a worse state of undress, and, to her it was just like wearing her swimsuit. He sat up and moved over, so that she could lie where he just was. Once she got herself situated, she reached behind her and unhooked her bra, trying to make it easier for him to get her entire back.

He swallowed hard, really hoping that he could control his manhood in this state. "Um…alright." He said, almost sounding bashful. He got on her as she had to him and grabbed both the containers. He didn't know which one went first. So…he sucked up his pride and asked. "Which do I use first?"

"The oil," Sakura said kindly, knowing that he was trying his best.

He nodded and placed the lotion down. Now, how would he do this? Well, he might as well just try and make it as pleasurable for her as possible. He squeezed out some of the oil on her back and started rubbing it in. His breathing picked up slightly, but he remained calm. Trying to mimic what she had done, he moved his hands up and down her back, mainly staying between her shoulder blades. Once he felt something hard he pressed it, trying to be gentle at the same time. "I'm not hurting you…right?"

"No, you're doing great. I'll let you know if you are, trust me. Just move in a circular motion. And Gaara? I'm not going to break. You can use more pressure. It will make the whole thing feel better." She told him, hoping that he would.

"Oh." He suddenly felt inadequate. "Sorry," he apologized. Finding another of her knots he pressed down harder, trying to copy the actions she had done. He hoped it was working. He felt the knot getting smaller and then could feel it no longer. He moved his hands down her back, repeating the process until he couldn't find anymore. He stared down at her back and then slowly smoothed his hands to her sides, just below her arms.

She sucked in a sharp breath at his sudden touch. She had been on the brink of falling asleep when he had stopped. His action surprised her a bit, but she decided not to say anything, wondering where he was going with this. He still had to rub lotion on her back as well.

He leaned down and kissed the top of her head, just enjoying her presence then. He pulled up and grabbed the lotion, getting some in his hands and rubbing it on Sakura's back.

She let out a soft moan, in heaven at the moment. It was so tempting to arch into his touch like she always did, but with the position they were in, she didn't want to drive him too far. Or herself, for that matter. So she held her body in place, simply enjoying the feel of his hands running along her skin.

He pressed his thumbs into her skin to try and ease the rest of the tension that was there. He leaned forward, trying to give her as much pleasurable pressure he could manage. Somehow though, his hands found themselves moving closer and closer to the sides of Sakura's chest. His fingers grazed the sides of her breasts, and he knew it the instant it happened. He blushed a bit, not knowing how she would react, and hoped she wouldn't get mad.

She let out another moan and shifted slightly, freezing when she realized what she had just done. Her face turned red then. So much for trying to control herself.

A small smirk crept up his face from her sound. In Gaara language, that moan meant continue. He moved his hands up to her shoulders, massaging them slowly and letting his hands trail down her arms to her sides once more, rubbing closer to her front than on her actual back.

She whimpered into her pillow then, wanting to tell him to stop and yet unable to. She felt that fire begin to creep through her body, and she liked it. Technically, he was still giving her a massage, so she had no reason to stop him. Right?

"Are you enjoying this Sakura?" he whispered into her ear, kissing the back of her head then and trailing down the back of her neck. He moved his hands slowly now, adding a bit more pressure.

"You have no idea." She breathed out, trying to regain her composure.

He smirked deviously, wondering just how far he could take it before she would tell him to stop. "Tell me what you want Sakura." He nipped at her ear, letting his fingers slide between her chest and the bed.

Any and all composure she had gained was now thrown out the window. She gasped and arched into his hands, unable to form a coherent response to his question. He could feel his own inner demon breaking free, his more animalistic and possessive side coming out. "Answer me Sakura," he demanded, reaching his hands completely around her and gripping onto her breasts, giving them a _massage_ of their own.

She began to breathe heavier at his tone. It was doing funny things to her insides. "Wh-what you're doing…is…just fine." She managed, hoping that was enough.

"Just fine?" he asked, tightening his grip. He bit down on her neck, finally moving his mouth down her throat and to her back, leaving a dark love mark on her neck.

She gasped. "N-no. It…it's…wonderful." She finally got out, trying desperately to stay quiet under his ministrations.

As he got lower he moved his hands down her sides, letting them rest on her hips. Slowly he hooked his thumbs onto the hem of her skirt and shorts. He continued the trail of kisses down her spine, giving her bottoms a sharp tug.

She sat up at this, bringing her torso up off the bed and causing her bra to fall down her arms. She turned to see what he was doing, mouth going dry at what she saw. The pure look of lust in his eyes was enough to stop her heart, the fact that he looked perfectly delicious not going unnoticed.

His smirk only grew at the sight that was now shown to him. In a movement too quick for her to react he pinned her to the bed, biting down on her neck once again, now kissing down her front, passing her collarbone once he reached it. He gripped her hand with his, lacing his fingers with hers. He wanted her so badly that he was beginning to go mad. He moved his other hand back down to her skirt and pulled it cleanly off, tossing it aside.

"Gaara!" she gasped, not believing what he was causing her to feel. "Don't….don't stop." She told him, deciding to go back on her word. She didn't care if this made her a liar, her mind was too gone now to fully comprehend everything that was happening to her.

The encouragement was all he needed to let everything loose. He grabbed onto her shorts and ripped them off her legs, throwing them somewhere in the room. He came back up to her face, kissing her tenderly on the lips. She could feel his grin grow, as he nibbled on her lower lip.

She wrapped her legs around his waist and brought him closer, surprised at how excited he was at their activities. Kissing him back vigorously, she ran her fingers through his hair. When she pulled away from the kiss, she gave him a timid smile. "It's not fair that you're wearing more clothes than I am." She pointed out.

"If you want them off, then take them off." He said smugly, leading one of her hands to the hem of his pants.

She pulled them down eagerly, licking her lips at what she found. She flipped their positions then, and took his pants completely off, leaving him in only his black boxers. She crawled back on top of him, straddling his waist. Leaning over him, she kissed him lightly, and began trailing them down his neck, all the while running her hands over his chest and stomach. When she reached his chest, she made sure to leave a love mark of her own, right above his heart.

Before she could do anything more, a loud knock came from downstairs. "Sakura! Gaara! I know you're both in there so get over here!" a familiar voice yelled.

Both paled suddenly and stared into each other's eyes, panic stricken. As if on cue they scrambled to get off the bed, both trying to redress themselves hurriedly.

"You two better open the door this instant! Or so help me, I'm gonna break it down!" the voice yelled.

"One second!" Sakura shouted back, trying to assuage them while throwing on her shirt. She went to put her shorts back on only to find them ripped beyond repair. Sighing, she ran over to her dresser and grabbed another pair. Pulling them on, she grabbed her skirt and began to run down the stairs, hoping that Gaara had already dressed fully. She flung the door open, breathless.

"What is it Temari? Is something wrong?" she asked, hoping that the blonde didn't know what she had just interrupted.

Hands on her hips, Temari simply yelled, "Hell yes something is wrong! Why did you and my brother leave the spa before your-" she stopped, going wide eyed.

Gaara came up behind Sakura, shirtless and looking irritated. All he had managed to pull on were his pants. He leaned against the door frame, glaring down at his sister. "Do you mind Temari?" he asked, wrapping his arms around Sakura's waist from behind. Before she could even respond he slammed the door in her face with his foot.

Sakura blushed and turned to Gaara, hiding her face in his chest. She didn't know what to say then. So instead she wound her arms around his waist, giving him a comforting hug. They had gotten so close. She was thankful for Temari's interruption, but at the same time, wished it had never happened.

He sighed and placed his arms around her as well, stroking her hair. He knew she was upset with herself for allowing this to happen. He placed his chin on the top of her head and rocked her a bit in place. He promised to not allow himself to be alone with her until the night of their marriage; it was just becoming too hard to stop. He knew very well that he wouldn't have.

"I'm sorry Sakura." He finally said with a sad tone.

"I should be the one apologizing. I always say that we aren't going to do anything like that but when it comes down to it I can't stop. I'm just a liar. A horrible, horrible liar. And a hypocrite. Oh God, I'm a lying hypocrite!" She said into his neck, trying to hold back her tears. She felt like such an awful person for leading him on that way.

"Sakura it's alright." He laughed, trying his best to make her feel better. "It's not that big of a deal, and you're not a hypocrite. It's probably just because we never see each other, and now that we're engaged it's harder to stop the impulses." He explained, at least knowing that's what it was for him.

"I really don't mind at all, besides…at least for now, seeing your body is satisfying enough." He whispered lovingly into her ear.

She blushed at his words, becoming embarrassed. She pulled back and gave him a tender kiss. "Want me to walk you to your hotel?" she asked, not yet ready to say goodnight.

He sighed, not wanting to leave, but knowing it would be for the best. "Yes." He took her hand then and led her back to her room, pulling his shirt back on and grabbing his shoes. "This is irritating." He admitted, a deep frown etched into his face. He sat on the bed and slid both his shoes on.

She smiled, agreeing wholeheartedly. Once he was ready to go, they made their way to the front door. After locking it, she took his hand, linking her fingers with his. They walked in a companionable silence, until being greeted by Tenten and her new husband, Neji.

"Hey guys! What are your doing out at this time?" the brunette girl asked.

"I'm taking Gaara back to his hotel. What are you two up to?" Sakura asked in return.

"Neji took me out to dinner. It was so romantic." Tenten said, stars in her eyes. Snapping out of her daze, she shook her head and turned to her silent husband. "Can we invite them over tomorrow? It would be the perfect way to break in your new croquet set." She asked him.

Neji sighed, giving her a small nod. "Yes, fine."

"Croquet?" Gaara asked quizzically.

"Oh yes!" Tenten smiled, clapping her hands together. "It's so fun! You both should come over so that we can become better acquainted! After all, you'll be joining the married crowd soon." She latched onto her husband's arm and tried to contain her excitement. "Won't it be fun Neji?"

"…Yeah…" he finally muttered.

"We'll see you guys tomorrow! I can't wait to play." She said to them before leading her husband towards the Hyuuga estate. Waving to them, Sakura and Gaara continued on their way. When they were in front of his hotel she stopped and turned to him.

"I guess I'll see you in the morning." She said softly.

He nodded, "I'll…just pick you up tomorrow from your house." He said sadly, taking her hand gently and pulling her to him. He leaned down and kissed her softly, his lips lingering on hers for just a moment after. He could already tell he wouldn't sleep well tonight. "Goodnight."

"Goodnight." She said, then turned and walked back in the direction they had come from. She didn't look back, knowing that if she did she would be tempted to just go up to his room with him. She let out a dejected sigh. It looked as though she would have to make do snuggling her pillow.


	4. Croquet

**Typhoon**

_Chapter Four_

-Croquet-

Gaara walked down the streets of Konoha, an annoyed look setting in on his face. Last night had been horrible for his sleeping. Not sleeping with Sakura had affected him more than he thought it would. This didn't make much sense, since he could sleep fine in Suna when she was not there. He sighed, sure that it was because he had slept with her the night before and now that he was refreshed with her taste he needed more. But alas, he knew things would never go how Sakura wanted them to if they were together at night.

Finally turning the corner to Sakura's street, he went up to her apartment and knocked loudly on the door, waiting patiently for the first time.

She answered shortly after his knock, a bright smile on her face. "Hey, are you ready?" she asked, even though the answer was obvious.

"I'm always ready." He said simply, letting her lock the door behind her. They walked back down to the street and headed towards the Hyuuga District. "So…what is croquet?" he asked, glancing down at her.

"Well," Sakura began, unknowingly using her hands to speak. "What you do is you pick your color and then you get your own ball, plus its matching mallet. Then you set up the course with wickets, which are like small arches, and the goal is to hit the ball through the arches and hit the pole at the end. But then," she held up her finger, as if this was a twist. "You have to go through the course backwards and make it back to the starting pole. You can only hit once a turn, but if you go through a wicket you get another hit, or if you hit someone else's ball you can hit it again, or send them."

"Send them?" he asked, appearing confused.

She nodded, stopping in the middle of the street and demonstrating for him. "You just put your foot over your ball and then hit yours against theirs! And then it goes flying! It's really fun, I'm sure you will like it." She nodded happily.

Gaara just sighed, it sure did sound like something she would enjoy. Once they finally reached the private district, Sakura knocked on the large gates. They opened slowly and creamy white met emerald. "Hello, Neji and Tenten invited us over to play croquet." Sakura smiled, waiting patiently.

The man at the gate nodded and pulled the door open, allowing them entry. Sakura led Gaara through the streets and towards the biggest house in the closed area. A servant was waiting for them at the front, and led the two to the common room where Neji and Tenten sat drinking tea. As soon as their guests arrived Neji looked up, dressed in a comfortable grey kimono. Tenten smiled brightly and got up, wearing her own kimono that was beautifully decorated with greens. "Hi Sakura! We decided to play traditionally, so we have kimonos for both you and Gaara! You can change in the spare room."

"What? I have to change?" Gaara frowned at the brunette.

"Thanks Tenten. I can't remember the last time I wore a kimono." She admitted.

"Well come on," Tenten gestured them over and pushed them into the room next door. "Now hurry up so we can get to playing!" she giggled, going over to her husband and stealing him from his tea. "Come on Neji, let's go set up the game while those two get ready."

Gaara stared at the _thing_ he was supposed to wear. "Come on…really?" he frowned, picking up the dark red and black kimono.

"Its fine Gaara just change." Sakura gave him a harsh look, telling him he better participate and try and to be human.

He groaned and began removing his clothing, finally putting his arms through the sleeves and tying the sash around his waist. "This is weird." He complained, looking over at Sakura, who was tightening her obi. She had clipped her hair into a bun with some chopsticks Tenten had graciously left her. Her kimono was a soft pink and white, intricate drawings all over it.

"I think it's cool," she smiled. He looked really handsome in his kimono, but she would admit that it was also weird for her. She was used to seeing him in either his Kage robes, or his battle armor. But she wouldn't tell him that, knowing it would only cause him to change back into his previous attire. So she left the subject alone, hoping he would do the same. Grabbing his hand, she led him to the vast garden behind the house.

As they approached the inner garden, he took notice of how nice her form looked in a kimono. He would make a note to get her one when they got back to Suna. "You look…very pretty." He said softly.

Turning back to him, she gave him an appreciative smile. "Thank you."

They finally stepped down into the large greenery. Tenten ran towards them, two mallets in her hand. "Here Gaara you can be red." She laughed, handing him the wooden mallet with the red stripes. "And here Sakura, I had this one made special for you!" the Hyuuga's wife handed her one with light pink stripes. "I just thought it would be so cute! Right, Neji?" she turned to her bored husband, who simply sighed.

"Yeah…totally cute."

"Well the course is set! It's Gaara, Neji, myself, and then Sakura. So go on Gaara, start us off." She gave him a small push towards the starting stick. He took the red ball from the pile and set it beside the stick, lining it up to go through the first two wickets, which were located right next to the stick.

"So I just hit it?" he asked.

Tenten nodded excitedly. He looked back down and gave it a hit, causing the ball to roll through both wickets. He blinked, he wasn't too bad. Little did he know the first two were the easiest, seeing as they were located about a foot away from the starting stick.

"Yay! You got it!" Sakura cheered. "Now you get two more shots, so be sure to aim the ball for the next wicket." She instructed, pointing to where the next one was located.

He nodded, seeing the next one was a bit farther. More power was probably what he needed. Neji picked up his cup he had brought and took a sip of the herbal brew. "Just make sure you don't hit too softly, sometimes that can mess you up."

"Alright." Gaara said, walking to his ball. He aimed the mallet and then brought it all the way up, as if he were teeing off for golf.

Tenten went wide eyed, "Gaara wait! Not that-"

Too late, the redhead hit the ball as hard as he could, sending it into the air and straight through a nearby window. Sakura and Neji stayed silent, but in shock.

"Not _that _hard Gaara." Tenten groaned, pinching the bridge of her nose. Both women glared at Neji, the 'words of wisdom'.

He simply coughed to clear his throat. "Well…you have one shot left now."

"Yeah, but now it's going to take him forever to find his ball. And now he has to maneuver through the house in order to get it out!" Sakura insisted, throwing her arms in the air. Then she put them on her hips, and turned to the Hyuuga couple. "Can't we just give him a break, since he's never played this before?" she asked, raising a brow at Neji, asking his permission.

"Sure, go get it Gaara you can have a redo."

He sighed and closed his eyes, letting his sand find it and then bring it back to him. Finally the ball came around the corner and was tossed at the redhead's feet. Neji stepped towards Gaara and sighed, "Now this time hit it hard…but not that hard."

"Ok," he took a deep breath and tried a more controlled approach. He hit the ball and it rolled across the grass not too far away.

"Now you get another attempt to make it through the wicket." Neji pointed, being surprisingly friendly. Gaara hit the ball again, but it only hit the side of the wicket. He growled in anger, knowing that he should have gotten it through.

"Alright your turn Neji," Tenten cheered, clapping her hands for him.

The brooding brunette walked over and expertly hit his ball through both wickets. He swung again, and the ball rolled swiftly across the grass and tapped Gaara's ball. "That's two hits left." He said simply as the Kazekage steamed, not liking that he was being shown up.

Neji hit his ball through the wicket, still having two more shots. He made it close to the next wicket but then stopped, seeing as his hits were up.

"My turn!" Tenten yelled, walking over to the stick. After hitting her ball through the first two, she aimed and shot again, her ball rolling across the field, stopping just short of Neji's and Gaara's. She walked over and hit it again, making it through the second wicket, but sending it into a small ditch.

"Tough luck on that one, Tenten." Sakura said, taking aim. She hit her ball with enough force to land right next to Gaara's, hitting it. She strolled across the grass, and placed her foot on her ball. Looking over at Gaara, she said, "No hard feelings.", and hit her ball, sending his across the garden and into a flowerbed. Having two shots left, she made it through the second wicket, and, by the end of her turn, was a mere foot away from the third one. Turning around and seeing her friend's astonished faces, she shrugged. Then she looked over at Gaara. "You're turn! I wish you luck getting out of there!"

Gaara's eyes twitched as he watched her move back from the field. He walked over to his ball, and, summoning all his sand, had it creep through the grass, ready to help its master. He was not going to lose such a silly game. He hit the ball with much force and it flew forward, having a bit too much of a smooth roll among the grass. It hit Tenten's ball, and he sauntered over with a grin on his face. He aimed for the wicket and shot it through, the sand along the ground pushing and guiding the ball through the arch. "That's another turn, correct?" he asked, fighting the smirk that was about to form. Neji watched carefully, the veins around his eyes bulging a bit. He held in a laugh and quickly found another object to draw his attention.

The redhead moved towards his ball and aimed it straight for Sakura's, now that he was through the second wicket. He hit decently and it swerved into the pink orb. Tenten gasped, "Wow! Good hit Gaara!"

"You think so?" he looked towards his pink haired beauty, picking up his ball and setting it next to hers. "No hard feelings…right love?" he smiled evilly, stepping on his ball and giving it hard whack as hers sped through the grass and into the far corner of the yard.

Her eyes narrowed at his maneuver. He shouldn't be this good after sucking so bad on his first turn. Something was up. "Right Gaara. I guess now I'll have to stop going easy on you, since apparently you've already caught the hang of it."

"Sorry, I'm just naturally talented I guess." He shrugged, smiling victoriously.

Neji laughed, "Yeah it's _natural_ alright."

Gaara took his last hit and sent it through the next wicket. Deciding he didn't want to make his cheating too obvious, he hit the ball and missed purposely. "Darn," he cursed aloud, still smiling on the inside.

"Well I suppose it's my turn now," Neji said, walking towards his ball. He faced away from them, letting his byakugan appear on his face. He aimed and channeled his chakra to the mallet, swinging and sending the ball forward. It surged straight through the wicket and continued forward, even though it should have stopped. His eyes returned to normal and he laughed. "Well now that was a pretty good hit."

He hit normally the second time, nearly getting it through the arch but not enough. He sighed, facing them once more. "Oh well."

Tenten, oblivious to what was happening, since she wasn't very good at the game, took her turn, barely managing to get the ball out of the ditch. Sakura, however, had figured out that something was up, both with Neji and Gaara. Walking across the field to where her ball was knocked, she sent some chakra to her hands. Not enough to be detected, but enough to get the job done. It shot across the field and through the third wicket, allowing for her to go again. Walking to where her ball now was, she took aim. Adding even more strength to her swing, her ball flew forward, sending Gaara's sailing across the yard and into a small pond. "Oops." She said innocently. "I guess I just don't know my own strength."

She walked to where her ball stopped and sent it through the fourth wicket, not having to help it along this time. Wanting to be farther in the lead, she sent it over to the fifth wicket, allowing it to stop right before going through. This way, her victory was practically guaranteed on her next turn.

Gaara glared at her, knowing that she was cheating, but for obvious reasons said nothing. With a flick of his wrist, that went unseen, his sand crawled towards Sakura's ball settling beneath it so when she went to swing the next time it would not move, no matter how hard she hit it. He reached his hand into the shallow pond and pulled out his ball, drying it off in the grass before setting it back down near the edge of the water.

"Alright Sakura." He moved the remainder of his sand under his ball for an extra boost. He hit the ball with a loud smack. It flew through the air, though the sand was guiding it, and ricocheted off a solid wall, rolling through the forth gate and continuing on until it hit Sakura's ball right out of the way, the sand beneath it following as to keep his trap set. "Well would you look at that." He smiled, making his way over towards the fifth wicket and hitting his ball once more, his sand giving it an odd curve straight through the gate. "Sorry, it's just a game." He laughed, hitting his ball once more so it rolled next to the sixth arch.

Neji, unable to wipe the smirk off his face, marched up to his and gave it a skillful hit. It went through the fourth and just barely tapped Sakura's. Deciding to be a bit more vicious in this game, he set his ball next to Sakura's and gave her an apologetic smile. His byakugan activated and chakra pulsed through his veins and down the mallet. "Sorry Sakura," he said giving it a hard chakra charged hit of gentle fist. The ball flew so hard that it pierced the outer cement wall of the garden, a small hole the only thing seen. Gaara smirked as well, not letting his sand stop the abuse to his fiancé. It was payback, after all.

Tenten stared in awe at the natural talent of her friends and husband. She knew at that point that there was no way she was going to win, but decided to persevere anyways. She hit the ball, barely managing for it to get through the third gate. Hitting it once more, it went past the fourth, making it so that she would have to turn her ball around on her next turn. She sighed in defeat. It just wasn't her day.

Sakura walked over to the wall and hopped over it, landing next to where her ball had landed. It was _so_ on. She readied her mallet, and sent chakra to her hands. Swinging expertly, she was startled when she heard a loud crack. She looked into the air, only to see that the bottom half of her mallet was flying upwards, having broken off when it connected with her ball, which was still in the same spot.

Her eyes widened in shock. She leapt onto the wall, an angry glare on her face. Pointing an accusing finger at the redhead, she began to yell, "You big cheater! Let my ball go this instant! Look what you made me do to my mallet!" Then she held up the broken end of her mallet, her face red from all the yelling.

Both Gaara and Neji burst into laughter. The redhead held his hand down, palm up, while the brunette gave him a low five. "We don't know what you're talking about Sakura." They said in unison.

"Don't try and blame this on me sweetheart, just because you missed and broke your own mallet is your fault." Gaara said coolly, a smirking Neji beside him, still trying to hold in more laughter.

"_I _didn't see Gaara do anything of the sort." He said simply, looking up at the fuming woman.

Her emerald gaze narrowed. "I'm sure you didn't Neji, even with your byakugan." She hopped off and marched towards Gaara. Snatching his mallet from his hand, she held up her knee and broke it in half, so that it matched her own.

"Now we're even." She said. Then she turned and went back over the wall. Picking up her ball and the other half of her mallet, she came back over, and set it down on the ground. "Since you were kind enough to give Gaara another chance, I'm sure you wouldn't mind giving me the same courtesy?" she asked, raising a delicate brow.

"Oh no Sakura." Neji shook his head, "Remember your own words. Since Gaara was a _beginner_ he got another chance, you've played…many times. So go take your ball and place it back where it was hit." He shooed her away. Gaara laughed, crossing his arms, victory all over his face. "Here Gaara," the brunette offered his mallet to the redhead. "You can use mine."

"Why thank you," The sand master smiled, taking it graciously.

Just as Gaara hit the ball, she directed some chakra into her foot and leapt over the wall, causing the ground to split, and his ball to fall down the crack. "Did you make it?" she called over, already knowing the answer.

His eye twitched, looking down at his ball. He glanced over at Neji with a look of revenge. Understanding his new friend's gesture, he kicked up his ball and spun around quickly, similar to when he did his palm rotation, and hit the ball with a chakra surge. It flew into the air and bounced off a high wall, having just the perfect angle to hit Sakura's point blank, sending it even farther from the Hyuuga estate.

Jumping up onto the wall himself, Neji smirked down at her. "Sorry Sakura. But I get another hit." He jumped down, his byakugan still activated, causing him to hit with precise accuracy. With a bounce it landed on the roof and rolled off, then taking a guided ride down the rain gutter and landing on the grass. He came back over the wall, and walked over to where his ball had landed.

Glaring at the Hyuuga, she walked over to where her ball had stopped. Adding more chakra than was necessary, she hit it with enough force to send it back through the wall, creating an identical hole. Her ball flew towards Gaara, who just barely dodged it in time. It then hit the opposite wall, landed on the grass, and rolled towards the next gate she needed. Hopping back over, she smiled, please with her handiwork. "Darn, I missed."

"Of course you missed Sakura, you couldn't see where the wicket was." The redhead pointed out to her.

She rolled her eyes at him. "No, I was aiming for your head. Oh well, there's always next time." She sighed, walking towards him.

His playful demeanor vanished almost instantly, replaced with a glare. Neji looked between the two, giving a loud sigh. They would definitely need some counseling or they might just kill each other. "Sakura, maybe you shouldn't say things like that." Neji pointed out, wanting to quail the fire burning in Gaara's eyes. Unfortunately, it was far too late to stop this new anger.

"Oh he knows I don't _really_ mean it Neji. Gaara's not _that_ sensitive." She said. Her competitive nature had taken full control of her, causing her to be reckless with her words.

Neji sighed, as Gaara's glare narrowed even more. He stomped on the ground, his sand reacting and tossing his ball up from the crack. He caught it in the air and dropped it at his feet. He tightened his grip on the mallet, and just before he pulled back to swing, they all heard a yell.

"OH MY GOSH I WON!" Tenten cheered, jumping up and down with glee. "I can't believe it! I WON!" she started laughing evilly. "HA! Take that bitches!" she cackled, holding up her croquet mallet and breaking it in half with her forehead. She threw the pieces aside and clapped her hands together happily.

Neji groaned, seeing his destroyed game. "Looks like I have to buy a whole new set now."

Gaara stared in astonishment. He lost? He couldn't believe it, then again the three of them were just trying to annihilate each other. This brought his previous anger back. _Sakura_, he thought furiously, glaring back at her.

She was simply standing there, mouth agape. She had been so sure that she had the game in the bag. But, you know what they say. Cheaters never win, and none of them had.

"Well that was fun." Tenten smiled, her odd moment gone. "Now who wants some tea?" she offered, getting a nod from Neji.

Gaara followed the head of the clan without even a word to Sakura. Once they were inside again he sat beside the dark haired man as Tenten poured them both some tea, getting out a cup for herself and Sakura as well.

The pink haired woman glanced at the redhead, wondering what was wrong. Looking back at Neji, she grimaced apologetically. "I'm sorry about your croquet equipment…and your yard. I can pay for the damages if you want." She offered, trying to smooth things over with him.

"It's alright Sakura, I was only kidding. No need to worry." He said simply, taking a sip of his tea. Gaara picked up his cup, drinking it slowly and silently.

"Well," Tenten spoke up, trying to break the awkward silence. "We should definitely do this…I mean some other kind of activity together again."

"Yeah it was fun." Sakura admitted with a smile. Then she took a sip of her tea and glanced sideways at her silent companion. "What do you think Gaara?" she asked, wanting him to say _something_.

He didn't gratify her wish with an answer. Neji watched the two sadly. This was definitely a problem. So he decided to try and help, but of course this needed to be handled carefully. "Tenten," Neji spoke up, looking at his happy wife. "Could you give us a moment, why don't you go check on Hanabi, she hasn't been feeling well."

Tenten blinked, a little unsure why he wanted her to leave, but knew it was important if he actually voiced it aloud. "Sure, I'll be back later then." She smiled and left the three. Once she was gone the head of the Hyuugas focused his pale gaze on the couple.

"You two are giving me an ulcer."

"Excuse me?" Gaara finally spoke up, glaring at Neji.

"How can you two even think about getting married? If you really want to make this extremely dysfunctional relationship work, you _both_ need to quit the crap and start trying to work as a team. In _everything_." Neji crossed his arms, waiting for their responses.

Sakura raised a brow. "What are you talking about Neji? Gaara and I work great together." She asked, confused. She had fought alongside him, danced with him, verbally jabbed someone with him, made out with him, and it was all great. What else was there?

"You do realize you have a lot of hostility towards each other, don't you?" the brunette asked.

Gaara scoffed, "I do _not_ have hostility towards her. She's the violent one, always trying to kill me or try and prove me wrong. Testing my patience and whatnot." He crossed his arms defensively.

She huffed at what he said. "That's only because you challenge almost _every_ decision I make. You always have to argue with me, and when you don't get your way you pout. And I'm not the violent one, you are!" Crossing her own arms, she sent the redhead a glare. "If anyone's patience is being tested in this relationship it's mine."

He scowled back, their contest beginning. "Maybe if you made the _right _decisions we wouldn't have that problem."

Neji growled, growing more agitated with every word. "Shut up! Both of you, are you hearing yourselves? Does that sound harmonious to you? I am only saying this because I am your friend. I would rather not have Konoha destroyed, and I happen to wish happiness upon others." He leaned back and crossed his arms.

"Listen you two, to be in harmony you need to focus on two things. Gaara, you need to show Sakura love, not only physically, but emotionally. Women need to be shown they're loved at all times." At this Sakura stuck her tongue out at Gaara, already liking where this 'therapy session' was going.

"Sakura." Neji cut the pink haired woman off from making more facial gestures. "You need to show Gaara respect. Always. Which is something I _know_ you have problems with. Respect is very important to a man. The most important thing for a woman is love, and the most important for a man is respect. If you just try going along that, you will find yourselves fighting less and less. How do you think Tenten and I are so compatible?"

Her shoulders slumped, dejected. Neji was right, she did need to show Gaara more respect than she did. It seemed there were a few things that she needed to learn before she could marry him. She turned to him and placed a hand on his knee. "I'm sorry Gaara. Neji's right. I was wrong to do what I did. It's just…I've never really been in a relationship like this before…and I guess there are still a few things I need to learn." She hoped he would forgive her, since admitting that she was wrong _and_ apologizing for it was extremely difficult for her to do, especially when there were witnesses.

Neji's eyes shifted from her to the redhead. Gaara placed his hand over hers and gave her a small smile. "It's alright Sakura. I'm sorry as well…I've _never_ been in a relationship before…so I should have gone to someone in the first place…so I would know how to treat you correctly." He looked over at the brunette, "Thank you Neji…I'm sorry about how we were acting. But still…thank you."

"It's alright, I was just making sure you two had some advice before you started hating each other." He smiled back, proud of his work and that things had calmed down.

"Oh I would never be able to hate Gaara, no matter what happened." Sakura nodded, completely confident.

At this, Gaara's gaze lowered in shame. He remembered the time he had thought that she was just using him to get to the Uchiha, and how he had hated her then. He let his hand fall from hers and faced Neji, a pained look on his face. His hands clenched into tightened fists, grabbing the fabric of the kimono. "I understand." The redhead bowed his head to the Hyuuga, understanding fully now what it meant to actually have a relationship. It was one thing to love someone, but something entirely different to be with them.

Neji tried to give him a comforting smile. Apparently he had struck a chord deep inside the Kazekage. Sakura let her hand return to her lap, not fully understanding the pained look in Gaara's eyes. She would have to ask him about that later.

"Well we should probably be heading out now," Gaara stood then, bowing respectfully. He had finally found a male he could talk to. He waited for Sakura to stand and then they walked to the room where they had changed. There was silence between the two as they dressed, but they heard Tenten enter the room and start speaking with Neji. So much joy seemed to be around both of them. That was what he wanted, to be at peace with Sakura and not fight like they seemed to do all the time.

Hearing Tenten's laugh bubble out of the room, Sakura paused in her dressing. Would she and Gaara be like that some day? If they worked out their problems? She certainly hoped so, since that was how she had always pictured married life to be like. When she finished putting her standard ninja clothes back on, she turned and faced Gaara, who was also finished. She wanted so badly to ask him what was wrong, but didn't want to open that can of worms until they were alone.

"Come on," he said sliding the door open and walking into the common room.

Tenten waved to the two, "Sorry you guys are leaving, we'll have to play sometime soon!" she nodded, leaning her head on Neji's shoulder. The brunette male pat her leg and then held her hand reassuringly.

"Yes. It was definitely…interesting."

With another wave Gaara led Sakura out of the house, walking through the maze of a district. "So…what do you want to do now? We could either go somewhere for lunch, or I can make something. You pick." She said, not really caring as long as they could spend more time together.

"Let's go out, I don't want you to have to cook." Once they had left the Hyuuga Estate he looked around, finally seeing a place that looked promising. They were seated quickly, handed menus, and left alone. Now this was the kind of service he liked.

"I've never eaten here before." Sakura said, looking around the restaurant. "What made you pick it?" she asked, wondering if he had perhaps been here on a previous trip.

"When I looked inside, I didn't see anyone I recognized." He said simply, opening his menu and looking through it. Konoha had such weird foods it was hard to decide what was actually good.

She burst into laughter at his admission, fully understanding what he meant. She opened the menu, and without hesitation knew what she wanted. Placing it back on the table, she linked her hands together and stared at him, unashamed if she got caught. Now that he was hers, she could do things like this often and not have to explain herself to anyone. She sighed in contentment, praying that they would be able to eat this meal without any problems for the first time. It would make everything perfect.

He frowned down at the menu, not really liking anything he saw. Konoha was just too healthy for his taste. "You just order for me," he sighed. "It all looks awful. In Suna the food seems much more appetizing." He finally looked up at her, wondering why she was staring so intently. Trying to be inconspicuous about it, he moved his hand to his face. Was there something there?

She suppressed a smirk. Deciding to mess with him, she brought her right hand up and rubbed slightly at her nose, not breaking eye contact the whole time. Then she re-laced her fingers, and waited to see what he would do.

He tried not to glare, noting that when he got embarrassed he got angry. So there had been something on his face. Now he just felt foolish. He wondered how long it had been there. He muttered a 'thank you' to her, trying not to make a big deal out of it.

She simply kept staring, watching as he brushed away what wasn't there. When he made eye contact with her again, she crinkled her nose, as if she was quelling an itch. She wondered idly how far she could take this before he figured it out.

"What?" he demanded, needing to know why she was acting so oddly.

"Oh nothing." She said, faint humor in her voice. The waiter came back to the able then, ready to take their order. She ordered her tempura, and then for Gaara, a new dish that included some type of salty meat. Knowing that he liked salty things, and meat, she figured it would be safe. If not, she could always make him something later.

After the waiter left, she turned back to him, rubbing at her nose in the process. Maybe just a little longer, and then she would put him out of his misery.

"So…" Gaara began, trying to pull away from the awkwardness. "Today was…fun." he said, trying not to sound as uncomfortable as he felt.

"Yes, it was." She agreed, scrunching her nose again and giving him an odd look. If she could just get him to wipe at his nose one more time, she would be happy.

His discomfort returned, was it still there? He glanced around, using his peripherals to see his face through any reflective surface. Luckily there was a mirror in a nearby wall. He saw nothing wrong with him, so why was Sakura making such strange faces. "Is something wrong?"

She snickered, and then began to laugh at the look of confusion on his face. Finishing with a sigh, she looked back at him. "No, not anymore." She said with a devious smile.

He did his best not to get mad, since she was starting to aggravate him with all her secrets. Gaara took a deep breath and just let it go. The waiter came by, setting their food in front of them and wishing them a good afternoon. Without another word, the redhead picked up his chopsticks and hesitantly tried the dish.

"Hm. It's…alright." He muttered out, taking another bite. It was actually very good, but he would never be caught saying anything was better than his home food.

Picking up her chopsticks she began to eat as well. "I'm glad you like it. I wasn't sure if you would or not."

He shrugged, continuing to shovel the food down. He was very hungry after all the activities. It was nice having a quiet lunch with Sakura, he couldn't remember the last time he had actually had a peaceful meal with her.

"GAARA! SAKURA-CHAN! There you are!" a loud, irritating, shrill voice broke through their silent setting. Gaara's chop sticks snapped in half from his tightened grip, his eye twitching. Naruto ran up excitedly to their table, giving it a shake. When Sakura looked at Gaara, it was obvious he was doing everything in his power to remain silent and calm.

"What is it Naruto? Can't you see we're eating?" She glared up at her friend.

"I know! I know! I'm sorry but, I just heard from Hinata-chan that you guys played croquet with Neji and Tenten and went to the spa with Shikamaru and Temari the day before. So I thought it would be great if we all hung out tomorrow! What do you say?"

"…What would we be doing exactly?" she asked, suspiciously. The last time she had hung out with Naruto resulted in her being covered in honey and chased by an angry bear. All because he wanted to play with a beehive they had come across, and had upset them. So, in an attempt to be a good friend, she tried to get rid of the hive. The rest didn't really need to be explained. Needless to say, she was reluctant to agree before she knew what she was getting herself into.

"Well I thought we could go swimming! And play some games, like marco polo, chicken, you know, stuff like that." The blonde grinned, awaiting their answer.

Gaara seemed reluctant, since he wasn't too comfortable in water. He preferred heat and dry. "I don't know Naruto…today was so tiring…"

Excited about the opportunity to swim, since she hadn't been in forever, Sakura gave Gaara a pleading look. "But, I just bought a new swim suit. This would be the perfect opportunity for me to test it out."

Still hesitant on the matter, the thought of seeing Sakura in a swimsuit intrigued the redhead. "Fine." He agreed, getting a cheer from their friend.

"Great! I'll go tell Hinata-chan! See you guys tomorrow!" Naruto waved and dashed out of the restaurant, knocking a couple people down from his speed.

Gaara sighed and looked back at Sakura, trying to imagine what she would look like tomorrow. She merely smiled at him, eyes widening as she realized something. "Hey Gaara, do you even have a swimsuit?"

"Of course I have a swimsuit Sakura, who doesn't have a those awful clothes for water?" he questioned, grabbing some more meat from his plate and tossing it in his mouth.

Resuming eating she shrugged. "Well, last time I was in Suna there wasn't really a place to swim. I didn't want us to go swimming and you wind up having to borrow one of Naruto's hideously orange ones." She shuddered at the thought. No man of hers would be caught dead in that color.

"There's plenty of pools in Suna…I just don't go to them." He said finally. "And like hell I'd ever let those disastrous clothes touch my body. Temari had mine custom made. So don't worry." He nodded. He wasn't too excited about ridding himself of his sand for the day though, that might pose as a problem.

She giggled and finished her meal. "Well, what are you going to do with your sand gourd?" she asked, as if reading his mind.

"Well I'm not leaving it if that's what you mean. I'll just…set it aside, or inside wherever we happen to be." He nodded. There was no way in hell he would ever be without his most trusted weapon.

She smiled at him. "It's ok. If anything happened, I'd be there to protect you." She teased.

"I don't _need_ to be protected." He spat out quickly, at least keeping the glare off his face.

She stuck out her lower lip in a playful pout, widening her eyes innocently, for the full effect. "You don't think I'm strong enough to protect you?" she asked, continuing her joke.

He could hold back his anger no longer, "Are you insinuating that I cannot protect myself?" he asked, trying to think back on what Neji had told him. He took a deep breath and tried to release his negative emotions.

Sakura, also remembering that she needed to show Gaara more respect, wiped the pout off her face. Looking down at her ring finger, she sighed. "No. I was just kidding." She locked gazes with him. "If anyone here can protect themselves it's you." She said, trying to smooth things over.

It seemed to do the trick, for Gaara let out a deep breath and became calm. Pulling his wallet from his pocket, he tossed more than what their meal had cost on the table. "Come on, let's go. Tomorrow…should be interesting." He sighed, getting up and offering his hand down to Sakura.

They left the restaurant hand in hand, planning on spending the rest of the day just relaxing in the park. After all, they needed to save their strength for what tomorrow had to offer.


	5. Water Fun

**Typhoon**

_Chapter Five_

-Water Fun-

Sakura got up early the next day, too excited to sleep in like she normally would. Not only had it been a while since she had gone swimming, but it would be the first time that she would get to swim with Gaara, _and_ see him in a swimsuit. True, she had seen his bare chest before, but the thought still excited her.

Getting out of bed, she made her way to the bathroom and took a shower. Even though she was going to get wet later, she still wanted to smell nice. When she finished she dried her hair and went back into her room. She rummaged through her dresser, finally pulling out her new swimsuit. She had bought it on a whim, because it was the same color as Gaara's hair. It was a two piece, with a solid string bikini top, and bikini bottoms that tied on the side.

Once her swimsuit was on, she walked over to her closet. She grabbed her black cover-up and threw it on, before heading downstairs to the kitchen. Not really having anything good to eat for breakfast, she grabbed a protein bar and ate it. Then she decided to put together a bag, with sunscreen and towels. Just then the doorbell rang, and she went to answer it eagerly.

Opening the door, she gave Gaara an assessing once over. He was wearing a plain black t-shirt. His swim trunks were the long kind, and were also black, with the kanji for love sewn in red on the left leg. She laughed at the irony, and opened the door wider to let him in. She still had some things to put in her swim bag before she was ready to go.

Quirking a brow at her, the redhead asked, "What's so funny?"

"Oh it's nothing. It's just that we match." She said, pointing to her ensemble. "I'll be ready in a minute, I wanted to put some snacks in my swim bag first." She told him, wandering into her kitchen.

"No rush." He said, not really looking forward to seeing Naruto or being in the water. And both combined was sure to give him a headache. When Sakura came back she stared at him oddly, trying to glance at his back.

"Where's your gourd? I thought you said you weren't going anywhere without it."

He sighed, giving a small shrug, "I have what's on me at all times, I'll take it off and then get it back after we're done. I can create more sand with just this amount." He explained, thinking back when he had been summoned to help with saving the Uchiha when he was captured. "So come on already lets go." He told her, turning to the door and heading out.

"Okay." She said, grabbing her bag and locking up. They walked through the village, meeting Naruto and Hinata by the gates of the village.

"Hey guys!" the blonde shouted, waving at them. "I hope you're ready for some awesome water fun, because…well…it's gonna be awesome!" Naruto said enthusiastically.

She rolled her eyes at him. "What did you come up with this time?" she asked, knowing there was a catch.

"Hehe, I'm glad you asked Sakura-chan!" he gave them a devious, plotting look. "How good are you and Gaara at races?"

"Really Naruto? A race? How genin." The redhead sighed, looking away as if ashamed Naruto was his friend.

"Ha! What Gaara, you afraid to lose?" Naruto taunted, knowing Gaara all too well. His angry friend would take the bait.

True to his nature, Gaara glared back the grinning blonde. "I would never lose to you, _especially_ in such a childish game."

"So you accept?" the jinchuuriki asked, trying not to laugh at how easy his victory was going to be.

"Of course."

Sakura rolled her eyes. Such typical males. "Ok great. The place where we are going to swim is that waterfall about half a day's travel away from here. You know the one right Sakura-chan?" he asked, turning towards her.

She nodded. Of course she knew the one. It was the one she had always wanted to go to with Gaara.

"Cool. Ok so, we are going to race to the waterfall. I just learned how to flash-step, you know, like my father could do? So you guys are going down." The blonde said, grabbing Hinata by the waist. "Ok when I say go, we go." He said, as if the answer wasn't obvious.

Sakura merely exchanged a look with Gaara, nodding to him in understanding.

"GO!" the blonde jinchuuriki yelled, disappearing in a yellow flash.

As soon as that happened Gaara reached out for her, and she took his hand immediately. Pulling her up into his arms, and holding her bridal style, he looked down at her face. "It's about twenty-five miles southeast of our current location." She told him. Then she felt the familiar sensation of his sand wrapping around them, as they were whisked away to the waterfall.

When the sand cleared, she looked around and saw that Naruto wasn't there. Looking up into her fiancé's eyes, she smiled gleefully. "I knew you could beat him honey." She said, suddenly in a playful mood.

"Well teleporting and dashing are quite different." He said smugly, letting her down then, his eyes almost begging to know what she was hiding under her cover-up.

A brilliant light appeared and Naruto slid to a stop. Unable to control his speed yet, he fell forward, face first into the dirt with Hinata, terrified and latched like a koala bear on his back. Gaara stared down at them oddly, trying his best not to laugh.

"OW!" the blonde yelled painfully, a bit delayed. "Well at least Hinata-chan didn't get hurt," he mumbled, trying to look back at his girlfriend. "You can let go now Hinata-chan."

But the poor girl was scared stiff, "Um…Hinata?" Gaara gave her a poke to the head, but she did nothing.

"OH MY GOD I KILLED HINATA-CHAN!" Naruto cried out, sobbing dramatically. Both Gaara and Sakura gave him annoyed looks.

"Shut up Naruto." They said in unison. Gaara walked around the blonde and wrapped his arms around the Hyuuga's stomach, trying to rip her off Naruto's back. "Good God, she's got a grip." He growled, tugging harder. And with a quick release of her hands they both fell back. Gaara hit the ground, followed by Hinata hitting him.

"OW!" he yelled out. Finally snapped out of her shock, Hinata gasped, turning dark red.

"G-Gaara-sama! I-I'm s-s-s-so sorry!" she bowed apologetically as the redhead sat up. He rubbed his forehead and groaned.

"It's…fine…" he finally got out, now having a killer headache. Now this wouldn't be fun for anyone.

Sakura ran to his side to see if his head was okay. Her hands instantly turned green and she soothed the aching in his temple. Turning to Naruto, she sent him an angry look. "You can't even control it yet, and you wanted Hinata to go with you? Are you stupid?" she shook her head. "Nevermind. You _are_ stupid!"

Before the blonde could say a word, Hinata spoke up to defend him. "It's alright Sakura. I just didn't know that Naruto-kun could go that fast, and I wasn't prepared for it."

"Well, at least now I know what Kakashi-sensei needs to work with you on." The pink haired woman said, an evil look in her eyes.

"You wouldn't! Sakura-chan, you know Kakashi-sensei takes joy in torturing us! How could you do that to me?" he asked, a horrified look on his face.

She shrugged. "It's what you get for hurting Hinata and Gaara." Then she stood up, brushing herself off. "So? Are we gonna swim or what?" she asked, looking around at the group.

Only due to Sakura's medic skills Gaara agreed to continue their day of 'fun'. "So what do we do?" Gaara asked, having almost no experience in these types of situations.

Naruto laughed and pulled off his shirt, stretching slowly. Being a man, he needed to get his dignity back with his body. Hinata looked away from him, blushing darkly. "Well first, we're going to play chicken!" he announced, punching a fist into his palm.

Gaara scoffed and held his open palm out, Sakura slapping her hand against his. "This'll be easy." She smirked, grabbing her cover up and pulling it over her head before tossing it aside. Gaara did the same with his dark shirt, throwing it over Sakura's excess clothing. He didn't attempt to hide his stare, Sakura's body was practically his now and he could look if he wanted.

She pretended to ignore his gaze, and walked towards the water. She stuck her big toe in, and immediately pulled it back, a small gasp escaping her lips. Turning back to the others, she gave them an embarrassed smile. "It's a little chilly." She explained.

"Don't be such a baby Sakura-chan! I bet Hinata-chan will get in all the way before you do!" the blonde yelled. Wanting to beat his friends in something, he walked over to his ebony haired girlfriend. "Hinata-chan do you need help taking that off?" he asked innocently, gesturing to her cover-up.

The girl simply blushed. "No thank you Naruto-kun. I can manage." Then she pulled hers off, revealing a modest blue one piece, yet on her, it still managed to look beautiful.

"Hm." Gaara looked at the girl, deep in thought. "You know of all the things I saw coming with our messed up generation, I did not see Hinata having such a large chest." He shrugged simply, not interested at all. He just found it funny that the shyest of all the Konoha girls got the largest feminine features. "Alright, I guess it's time to get wet." He spread out his fingers and gave them one abrupt shake. All the sand slid off its master and gathered into a pile on the grass. Gaara rubbed his fingers together and made an odd face. "This feels weird." He shrugged and walked towards the water.

Naruto stood proudly beside Sakura, boasting excitedly about how he and Hinata would win. Once Gaara was behind him, he gave the loud blonde a shove and he fell straight into the water. "Shut up Naruto."

The boy came back up, sputtering. "How dare you! Just because you hate having fun doesn't mean you can do as you please!" the blonde yelled, pointing a finger at him.

Sakura walked over and wrapped her arm around Gaara, placing a hand on his smooth abdomen. "Actually Naruto, it does. And I wouldn't have him any other way." She said with a smile, looking up into his eyes. Then she ran her hand over his stomach, a contemplative look coming over her face.

"I didn't think your skin would be so soft. But I guess having always been protected by the armor, it would be." She stated.

"Well I've only been wounded twice." He reminded her, kissing the top of her head, a small smile gracing his face.

"I wanna feel Gaara's skin!" Naruto jumped out of the water and ran towards the two, who were now seriously alarmed. Unfortunately for Naruto, his face met with Gaara's foot and he was kicked back into the water.

"Naruto! I thought we talked about not acting on your homosexual tendencies!" the redhead glared.

"Besides, nobody gets to feel Gaara's skin except for me. It's _mine_." Sakura said, feeling possessive over her new discovery.

Shaking out his hair, Naruto crossed his arms and stuck out his lower lip in a pout. "You guys are no fun. And why am I the only one in the water? Hurry up Hinata-chan! Beat Sakura-chan in!" he called over to his girlfriend.

"Oh she can have this victory Naruto. That water is too chilly for me to get in any other way but one step at a time." Sakura said.

"Sakura."

At the sound of her name she turned her head back to Gaara, a questioning look in her eyes. "Sabakus don't lose." Was all he said before he hauled her into his arms and threw her in the water.

The water felt like ice hitting her skin, and sent a shock throughout her entire body. When her head emerged from the water, it was to be met with amused jade eyes.

"You cheated! Sakura-chan had to get in before Hinata-chan on her own!" Naruto yelled, indignant.

Tilting his head to the side, Gaara continued to look amused with the whole situation. "Actually, you only said she had to get in, not that I couldn't help her." He pointed out.

Hitting the water with a fist in frustration, Naruto said, "I shoulda thought of that." Then he climbed out of the water and marched towards Hinata. "Come here Hinata-chan! I'll carry you in like a princess! Because Uzumakis don't mishandle _their_ women!" Naruto yelled, directing that last comment to the no longer amused redhead by the lake.

Hinata merely blushed and allowed him to pick her up. She was starting to get used to his random ideas and constant affection, but sometimes he was a bit much. Out of irritation, Gaara stuck his foot out as Naruto passed him, making the poor guy trip and fall, with Hinata, into the water. "At least Sabakus don't wait like thirteen years to realize they love someone." He retorted, needing the upper hand again.

Naruto burst from the water and butted heads with Gaara. "HEY! It was a process!"

"Process my ass you pansy!"

"PANSY? I'll show you a pansy!" the blonde yelled, reaching out with his hands to grab the redhead. But Gaara's shot forward and met with Naruto's. It was almost like they were wrestling, in a far more aggressive way.

Sakura and Hinata exchanged looks, hers being one of annoyance and Hinata's one of worry. Wanting this nonsense to stop, Sakura decided to try and distract her redheaded lover. "Gaara, the water still feels cold."

Not catching what she was hinting at, he kept struggling with the blonde, beginning to gain an advantage. "So?" he grunted.

She crossed her arms and raised a brow. "Do you know what happens to a girl when she is cold?" she asked, hoping she wouldn't have to elaborate. Hinata, catching on to what her friend was saying, began to lower into the water slowly and scoot away from her friend. Experience taught her that this was the best course of action.

It didn't quite sink in at first, until realization flashed across Gaara's face. He pushed Naruto off a bit and then grabbed him, throwing him back into the water. Without any hesitation the redhead ran towards the water and dove in. He swam quickly and resurfaced beside Sakura, shaking his head and letting water fly from his hair. His hands rested on Sakura's waist and pulled her to him, pressing her whole front against his. He smiled and leaned down, kissing her wet mouth with his.

She responded to the kiss in kind, pleased that she had gotten her way. Pressing against him even more, she whispered into his ear. "I'm not so cold anymore."

"Darn," he laughed, ravishing her face with small kisses.

Naruto watched the two in envy, turning to Hinata and swimming towards her. "Hey Hinata-chan, aren't _you_ cold?" he tried to give her a seductive smile that failed miserably. Hinata went an unhealthy red and started swimming away from her boyfriend.

Sakura laughed at her friends' antics. "Hey Naruto, weren't you saying something about losing to me and Gaara at chicken?" she asked, bringing his focus back on their purpose for swimming.

"No! I was saying how me and Hinata-chan were going to dominate! You two don't stand a chance!" the blonde yelled, grabbing Hinata by the waist and pulling her to him. "Get ready Hinata-chan, this is gonna be rough." He said in a serious voice, preparing for battle.

Gaara rolled his eyes, taking Sakura's hand and submerging himself in the cool water. Sakura moved onto his shoulders, keeping her balance as he rose and stood tall. She leaned over his head, staring at him upside down. She started giggling uncontrollably, seeing his hair was a bit long and blinding him. She pushed it from his eyes and pat his head lovingly. "There you go baby."

Sakura punched her hand into an open palm and smirked, "Don't worry Hinata, I won't use any chakra to enhance my strength."

"…Um…ok…but aren't you natura-" Hinata yelped as Naruto went under and stood, having Hinata on his shoulders now.

"Are you ready to lose?" Naruto asked excitedly. Then, without warning, he rushed forward with Hinata, trying to catch the other couple by surprise.

Sakura merely braced herself as Gaara lunged towards the blonde. She and Hinata grabbed each other's fists, linking their fingers together. Her brow rose in surprise. Hinata was stronger than she looked. Keeping this knowledge to herself, Sakura began to twist sideways, hoping to knock the Hyuuga off.

Once again the redhead and the blonde were head to head, Gaara growling and Naruto giving out a loud grunt. Despite the fact that this game was simply out of his character, he refused to lose to the fox boy. Sliding his foot between Naruto, he brought it back, dragging the blonde's foot forward, making him go underwater and Hinata to lower.

Taking full advantage of this, Sakura increased the pressure she was putting on Hinata's hands. She hadn't lied. She wouldn't need to use any of her chakra enhanced strength to win this game. Hinata whimpered softly, her brow creasing as she tried to push back. Sakura smirked at this. It was a valiant effort, but she and Gaara would not lose, especially not to Naruto.

Hinata was determined not to lose, especially when Naruto was trying his best to win. She would show him how strong she had become. Sakura felt a pain in her hands all of a sudden. It shot down her arms, locking up her muscles. She went wide eyed knowing this technique, but she couldn't believe Hinata was cheating! Unfortunately, it was too late to counter the Hyuuga's gentle fist and the shy girl almost pushed her off the redhead. But thank god Gaara was her foundation. His grip tightened on Sakura's legs and he kicked Naruto back, sending the two into the water. They stayed connected though, resurfacing with haggard breathes. "Come on Hinata-chan! That was great! You were so close!" Naruto charged again, keeping a firm grip on his own woman.

"Are you alright Sakura?" Gaara looked up, avoiding the charge of the anxious man to give her some time to get focused.

"Yeah." She said, sending some healing chakra into her arms. With a determined glare, she reached out and grabbed Hinata's fists in her own. Squeezing a bit, she sent some harmful medical chakra into the girl's hands, causing her to gasp at the pain that shot down her arms.

"Two can play that game Hinata. Are you sure you want to go there?" Sakura asked, raising a brow at the timid girl. Her words were lost on Naruto, but Gaara's suspicion rose, knowing how competitive his woman could be.

Hinata actually let a hard glare form on her face. "I'm sorry Sakura, but I can't…I won't lose. Not in front of Naruto-kun!" she nodded, pulling one of her hands away and only holding two fingers out. Before Sakura could react, Hinata struck the juncture between her friend's arm and shoulder, her byakugan activated now.

She could feel her arm go limp and knew that she wouldn't be able to use it for some time. Once again Gaara pulled away from the duo, making sure Sakura was alright. He didn't even have to speak for her to know that was what he was thinking. "I'm fine Gaara. I only need one arm to win anyway." She smirked.

Hinata still had a solid look of confidence, both her hands in her own gentle fist stance. "We got this game in the bag Hinata-chan!" Naruto yelled before rushing them again. Gaara slid his foot out, slightly tripping the blonde, and causing Hinata to sway. This was exactly the opening Sakura needed. Faster than the eye can see, she grabbed one of Hinata's hands and sent some numbing chakra into it, causing her left arm to fall limp. Then she moved her hand out of the way, so that it wouldn't get hit. She smirked at the startled look on the girl's face. "Now the playing field is even."

Hinata let out a small smile. "So it is." She kept her hand raised. This was a fight for Naruto's pride now, and she would defend it with everything she had. Naruto started at Gaara again, who decided to engage the blonde this time. Naruto sped up and then just as he was about to let out his battle cry, his foot caught on a rock. He tripped forward, sending Hinata towards the water with wide eyes, her forehead colliding with Sakura's.

Both girls fell back from the impact and crashed into the water. "Sakura!"

"Hinata-chan!"

Naruto pulled Hinata's head from the water, trying to make sure she wasn't unconscious. "My…head…" she mumbled out in pain.

Gaara pulled Sakura up, holding her bridal style and close to his chest. "Are you alright?" he asked worriedly. She nodded, coughing up some water and rubbing her aching head. She sent some healing chakra into it, sighing as the pain receded. Then she put her hand on her shoulder, slowly opening up the closed chakra pathway, so that she could use her arm again.

When she finished she placed her head on Gaara's shoulder. "I was so close to knocking her off." She whined, upset that once again, Naruto's stupidity had caused people to get hurt.

"It's okay." Gaara told her, not ever upset that it was a draw. He was just glad she was alright. "Naruto how's Hinata?"

"How are you Hinata-chan?" the blonde asked, concern in his eyes.

"I'm fine Naruto-kun, my head just hurts a little." She answered, rubbing her head.

Sakura climbed out of Gaara's hold and made her way to her friend. "Here Hinata, let me heal that." She said, holding out her hands. Hinata welcomed the help, slightly embarrassed that part of it had been caused in her need to win.

"Sakura, I hope I didn't offend you by what I did. I-"

"It's fine Hinata." The pink haired woman interrupted, not wanting her friend to feel bad. If Hinata hadn't cheated, then she and Gaara would have won in the beginning. "It seems acts like that run in your family. Just ask Neji."

Hinata blushed and shook her head, "I heard that Gaara-sama cheated first." She said quietly, not wanting to anger the Kazekage. He merely shrugged, it was true after all.

She laughed at that. "Well I would expect that from him, not your uptight cousin." She joked. Turning to Naruto she raised a brow. "So, who's going to be it in marco polo? I call not it!" she yelled, feeling somewhat childish.

"Not it." Hinata smiled.

"Not it!" Naruto screamed, giving Gaara a victorious look.

"Fine." Gaara moved over to the blonde and closed his eyes. "Marco."

"Po-" Naruto almost finished before the Kazekage smacked him over the head.

"Now you're it."

Sakura burst into laughter. "You should have moved away before talking Naruto. Gaara has excellent senses." She pointed out to the pouting blonde.

"Excellent senses my ass. He just remembered where I was standing." The fox boy replied.

"Still," Hinata said, "you should have thought about that before speaking Naruto-kun."

Gaara smirked in triumph. There was nothing better than having everyone on his side. Naruto closed his eyes tightly. "….Marco."

"Polo." Sakura called, a few feet behind him.

"Polo." Hinata mumbled, almost to the middle of the lake.

"…polo." Gaara said, still in the same spot. If Naruto was smart he would go for one of the girls.

It just so happened that that was exactly what Naruto had decided. He turned around quickly and made his way towards Sakura's voice. "Marco!" he called.

"Polo." She said, backing up in order to avoid him.

"Marco!"

"Polo!" she squealed, having just barely dodged Naruto's hand. She began to swim away from him, turning around so that she kept him in her sights. Grinning to himself, Naruto decided to do a small flash-step in Sakura's direction, having used the Kyuubi's abilities to pick up on her scent. He reached out a hand, only to have it land on her right breast.

She gasped and flinched away, a light pink covering her cheeks, since no one but Gaara had ever touched her there. She wasn't entirely mad, because she knew it was an accident. It was Gaara she was worried about. Before anything else could happen, the blonde was wrenched away from her.

Naruto hit solid ground with a hard smack before he even knew what was going on. Hinata let out a cry, not really knowing what to do. Gaara pulled himself out of the water, stalking towards his, right now, _ex_-best friend. "HOW DARE YOU!"

The blonde man scrambled to his feet, completely confused as to what was happening. What did he do? Naruto tried to think about it, and then realized why where he touched Sakura had been so soft. "N-now Gaara!" he waved his hands in front of his face, trying to calm down the redhead. "That was an accident. A mistake! I swear! I would never touch Sakura-chan like that!" he started pleading now.

Before he could react Gaara punched him square in the face, insuring him a black eye for later. Hinata yelled and got out of the water, running to Naruto's side and helping him up. "Gaara-sama it was an accident! You didn't have to hit him!" she actually yelled.

"No one but me touches Sakura." He spat out.

Sakura merely stayed in the water, wide eyed. One, because of the way Gaara had reacted, and two, because Hinata had yelled for the first time.

"Ok already! We understand! Just don't hurt Naruto-kun anymore!" she glared, standing between him and Naruto. It wasn't as if she were fearless, because he could see her hands shaking slightly. "It was an accident." She said again, her palms flat as if she were ready to fight.

Gaara straightened up and stared at the not-so-quiet Hyuuga. Well that was definitely an interesting reaction. He was actually…impressed.

"Hinata-chan I'm ok, really." The blonde said, getting up. "I would be angry too if the same thing happened to you." He looked over to Sakura, who was getting out of the water. "I'm sorry Sakura-chan, I didn't mean to." He apologized, hoping she wouldn't punch him in the face as well.

She walked up beside Gaara and put her arm around his waist reassuringly. "It's ok Naruto. But if you ever use that damn flash-step again while in my presence, I'm going to strangle you." She threatened, raising a fist for emphasis.

Naruto simply laughed nervously, placing his right hand behind his head. "Ok, ok. I'll ask Kakashi-sensei to train me."

The rest of the day went pleasantly, with everyone actually bonding. They talked of the future and when Naruto would finally become Hokage. It was one of the days that Gaara actually felt like a normal guy, hanging out like a normal person. It was nice, to just have days where it didn't matter about the outside world. All there was was this small oasis.


	6. Scavenger Hunt

**Typhoon**

_Chapter Six_

-Scavenger Hunt-

"So," Gaara looked off into the busy streets of Konoha. "What are we going to do today?" he asked, staring back at her from across the table. They sat in a small bistro in the village, enjoying a quiet breakfast without any interruptions, surprisingly enough.

"I dunno," Sakura gave a small shrug, nibbling on her last piece of toast. "Maybe we can finally relax together. After all, we went with Temari and Shika to the spa, which ended terribly." She sighed, thinking back on how defensive Gaara was. But then smiled, it did make her feel loved, even if it was overwhelming at times. "Then we played croquet with Neji and Tenten," she counted off two fingers. "And yesterday we played with Naruto and Hinata. It would be nice to just sit and unwind."

Gaara leaned back in his chair, wanting nothing more than to do the same. But considering who they were and who their friends were, they would get no such luxury. The waiter came by and left the bill on the table. After they had paid the two left, just browsing around the streets of Konoha. Sakura was showing him all the places she had spent as a child when they were accosted.

"Hey forehead!" someone called from behind.

Sakura blinked, about to turn around when Gaara grabbed her hand and pointed off in some random direction. "Look at that!" he cried, before pulling her down one of the turns to another street of Konoha.

"Gaara! What are you doing?" she flailed, running to try and keep up with him.

Finally he slowed, looking around as if he were searching for someone. "Gaara!" she demanded again, a little miffed about being ignored.

"What?" he replied simply, as if their previous escape had not just occurred.

"What the heck was that for?" she asked, yet again.

"What was what for?"

Her eye visibly twitched. "Well when I heard Ino you grabbed my hand and ran off. _That's_ what."

He scoffed, crossing his arms in protest. "I have no idea what you're talking about." He smirked victoriously.

"Gaara!" an excited yell rose above the dull noise of the streets. The redhead's face fell as he looked over and saw Kiba.

"WHY!" Gaara shouted angrily to the sky. "WHAT DID I DO TO DESERVE THIS?" he demanded from the universe, shaking his fists in the air.

Kiba laughed, running up beside the pair. "Haha, Gaara you're weird."

The angry Kazekage focused all his fury on the brunette, silently telling him to go away.

"So!" Kiba smiled, ignoring the threats from Gaara. "I heard you guys have been hanging out with everyone but Ino and I. So today, the four of us are going to go on a scavenger hunt!" he cheered excitedly.

"WHY!" Gaara shouted, again to no one.

Once again ignoring the outbursts, Kiba handed Sakura a piece of paper. "Here, meet me and Ino there in one hour." He nodded and then dashed away.

Sakura looked over at Gaara, "No." he said, plain and simple.

"Oh come on, it'll be fun." she giggled, clinging onto his arm.

"No it won't! It will be horrible, and something bad will happen just like it always does!"

She crossed her arms and tapped her foot impatiently. "Well if you have that attitude then of course something bad will happen."

He rolled his eyes, not willing to fight with his better half. "Whatever fine."

"Good!" she smiled brightly, "Now let's go get ready for the scavenger hunt!" she looked down at the paper and noticed something she hadn't before. "Oh look, no ninjutsu or genjutsu." She pointed.

"Whatever." He said again, not obliging to her will.

"It also says, 'Gaara, no sand.' Haha, looks like you'll be on equal terms this time around." She gave him a poke and started walking. The next hour went by far too quickly in Gaara's opinion. With his sand gourd now left at Sakura's, the two made their way to the destination Kiba had written out.

When they arrived, they saw Ino talking to Kiba amiably. They both turned and waved to the contrasting duo. "Oh Sakura, I'm so glad you could hang out with us today. You don't know how much work we put into getting Kakashi to agree to set up the whole thing."

"You got Kakashi to do it?" Sakura blinked in utter surprise.

"Well of course," Kiba nodded, laughing. "I couldn't design it or I would know all the answers. Now Kakashi should be here any moment to tell us the rules and location."

Said sensei appeared in a loud puff of smoke. He walked forward, his nose in a book as usual. "Alright," he said, though all they could see was his mask move slightly with every word. "The location is the Forest of Death. There are ten clues for each team hidden throughout the place. You'll know you've won when you get to the end. Trust me, you'll know. NO, cheating will be allowed." He scolded them all.

"No jutsu at all, Gaara no sand, Kiba no Akamaru, Sakura no medical anything or chakra enhanced crap, and Ino…well…" he stopped, trying to think of what she could actually do. This made the blonde extremely upset, as was clearly seen on her face. "I guess…don't put your mind into anything…cause' that would be stupid."

The girl was fuming now, trying to get her hands on the older man, but Kiba held her back with all his might. "Anyways," Kakashi continued, clearly not caring. "The teams will be Sakura and Ino against Gaara and Kiba."

"WHAT?"

They all turned towards the redhead that looked as if he didn't mean to say that aloud. "I mean," he paused, then decided not to hide his rage. "Are you insane? You're going to make me and Kiba _work_ together?"

"That's what I said isn't it?" the jounin didn't bother to hide his irritation. Without another word of instruction Kakashi gave Sakura and Kiba each a piece of paper. "Your first clue. Now go away, I have some reading to do." He said, and with that he disappeared.

"Well come on Ino, off to the Forest of Death!" Sakura cheered, running away with her friend then and leaving their men in the dust.

Gaara felt his eye twitch. He _knew_ this was a bad idea. "Come on Gaara! They're getting a head start!" Kiba yelled, grabbing Gaara by the wrist and dragging him after the two girls.

* * *

"Alright, alright. This place matches the description in the clue." Kiba nodded, looking around the green area. They hadn't gone too far into the forest yet, but knew the dangers were only just beginning.

"There it is!" Kiba exclaimed gleefully, running towards a scroll lying on the ground.

_Well that was easy_, Gaara thought, his arms crossed tightly over his chest. _Unless_, "Kiba, wait-"

"AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH!" the brunette yelled, a trap rope tightening around his ankle and jerking him into the air. "What happened?"

Gaara ran closer and looked up, "You moron! If Kakashi made this hunt most likely you wouldn't just be waltzing up to it and grabbing it!" he glared up and then heard another snap. In a matter of seconds Gaara was hanging by his foot right next to Kiba.

Kiba laughed, "Well at least later on we can laugh about this right?"

"Haha! WOW! You guys having some trouble?" Ino's voice broke through the forest as she and Sakura walked into the clearing, already holding their second clue.

Sakura tried to stifle her laughter, knowing it would upset the already seething Gaara. "Well good luck boys." She waved, as they disappeared once again off to their third clue.

"Well-" Kiba began.

"Don't speak to me." Gaara glared, he was so _not_ having fun.

* * *

It wasn't too hard for Ino and Sakura to find and retrieve their clues. Both girls were smart, and since Sakura had been on Kakashi's team for years, she knew some of his tricks, which helped a lot.

By now they were already on their seventh clue. Trekking through the brush, she held out a hand, stopping her friend. "What is it?" she asked, curious.

"I think this is where our next clue is." She answered.

Crossing her arms, Ino huffed. "Impossible forehead. The last clue said 'In a place where things are not as they appear three miles northeast of your location'. This is just a small clearing."

Performing the proper seals, Sakura focused her chakra. "Kai." She said, effectively breaking the genjutsu that had been in place, revealing their next clue, lying in a pit of spikes. She turned to her friend with a smirk. "Well, if we had continued forward, we would have died from the fall, and the spikes. Aren't you lucky to be teamed with someone as amazing as me?" she asked smugly.

Popping her knuckles, Ino walked forward. "Yeah, yeah, now grab onto my feet and lower me down."

She did as she was told, and, after a few minutes, they finally had the eighth clue. "Got it!" the blonde yelled, as Sakura pulled her up, panting.

"Dang pig, you got heavy."

"Shut up forehead, let's just read the next one."

They opened the scroll and read the clue. Already knowing where it was located, the two women headed off into the forest. This whole scavenger hunt thing was a great idea. A really good way for Sakura to exercise her brain, and allow her to use skills she normally didn't. She only hoped Gaara was having as much fun as she was.

* * *

"I HATE this stupid scavenger hunt!" Gaara yelled, trying to swat away the gnats that would just not leave him alone. "I hate this forest, I hate this village, and GOD I hate you!"

"Hey! How was I supposed to know that that goo wasn't water?" the brunette huffed, crossing his arms angrily. They had only barely managed to get four scrolls, almost dying every time they had to retrieve one.

"Because it was _green_! You imbecile! And even _if_ it was water, why the hell did you throw it at me?" Gaara stopped and glared back at his 'partner'.

Kiba scoffed, "_Because_, Gaara, it growled at me, and I'm pretty sure it tried to bite me!"

"So naturally throwing it in _my_ face was the logical solution!"

"Well I thought you'd kill it!"

"I'll kill you!" the redhead shouted, tackling Kiba to the ground and banging his head against the forest floor. They struggled around, exchanging punches, until a loud crack made them both look over. An enormous tree, about a mile thick, seemed to be growing larger. They both went wide-eyed, realizing it was falling towards them.

Letting out a yell, they scrambled to their feet and ran as fast as they could, diving just out of the way of being smashed. Gaara and Kiba turned on their backs, trying to catch their breath and ease their terrified hearts. "Well…" Kiba huffed, "that was close."

Gaara glared over at him, giving him another hard punch in the arm. "Why are you such an idiot?"

When they both focused up, together they eyed something odd in the trees. It was a large gray net. "What…" Kiba began.

"Is that?" Gaara arched what could be a brow, as it slowly slipped from the branches and fell towards them.

"Oh COME ON!" Kiba cried out, jolting up with Gaara as they began to run again.

They slammed into a tree, pressing their backs against the bark and watching the net hit the ground with a great impact. The net exploded, and thousands upon thousands of kunai flew in every direction.

"OH MY GOD!" they yelled together, ducking down and falling beneath the tree's roots. It was like an underground cavern. The area was spacious, letting in the light from the spaces between the large roots. Finally sitting up, they both groaned. Kiba looked at his hand and saw a kunai imbedded through his skin.

"AHHHHHHHH! GET IT OUT!" he screamed, running around and flailing like a woman. Gaara grabbed him by the shirt and stopped his rampage, ripping the metal weapon out of Kiba's flesh.

"OWWW!" Kiba yelled again, holding his hand over the wound to try and sooth it.

Something fell from the ceiling and hit Gaara right on the head. He jumped away, glaring at the offending object. He blinked and then knelt down, picking up the scroll. "Hey it's the next clue."

"Really?" Kiba stopped running and returned to Gaara's side. "Wow! What are the odds of that!"

"Not very high," the redhead nodded and opened it up, reading the contents. He glanced around the area and laughed. "Hey we fell right into where the next clue is."

"Sweet! Maybe our luck is finally turning around. But…where is it?" Kiba looked around as well. That was when they heard loud snarling. Slowly, the two turned around to see an animal about the size of six elephants.

It was brown and furry, its sharp fangs clearly visible to the two. Tied to one of its enlarged canines was a string that had the next scroll. Gaara's jaw jobbed. "How did he even do that?"

The animal roared and charged at them then. "You've GOT to be kidding me!" They shouted, their yells being heard from all over the forest.

* * *

A few birds flew from the trees, startled. Ino blinked and looked back. "Did you hear that Sakura?"

Sakura looked in the direction of her friend and raised a brow. "It's probably nothing. There are a lot of wild animals that live here. That noise could have been made by any one of them." She said, continuing on her way.

They were looking for their final clue. So far it hadn't been too difficult for them to find the scrolls, but since it was the last one, and Kakashi was the one who made the scavenger hunt, she wanted to be extra careful. Walking through some bushes, she was grabbed sharply by Ino. Looking down, she realized that she almost walked off the edge of a cliff. "Thanks Ino."

The blonde shrugged. "Don't mention it forehead. Gaara would have killed me anyways if you fell."

That was when she saw it. There, near the bottom of the canyon, was the scroll they were looking for. "Ino! Look! There it is!" she yelled excitedly.

"Really? Awesome!" The other woman reached into her bag and pulled out some rope. "Here, tie this around your waist. I'll tie the other end to a tree, and lower you down."

"Why do I have to get it?" Sakura asked, crossing her arms.

Ino deadpanned. "Because, I got the scroll from that spiky pit."

"Fine. Just make sure you tie the knot properly." She said, securing the rope around her waist.

Once they were ready, Ino lowered Sakura down to the scroll. She had to stretch a bit to get it, but made it back to the top safely. Once she was back on land, she opened it up and read it.

_Congratulations and whatnot, you were able to find the last clue. As a reward I will give you some words of wisdom. Sakura, remember what I said at your birthday party. Numbers one, two and three. Just tell me, and I'll kill him for you._

_Now go to the tower used for the Chuunin Exams and wait for the boys. I have a feeling they will be a bit late._

_Kakashi_

"What does numbers one, two, and three mean?" Ino asked, confused.

The pink haired woman rolled up the scroll. "Oh it's nothing! Just an inside joke, that's all. Nothing to worry about." Trying to change the subject, Sakura turned in the direction of the tower. "Let's go and see if the boys made it yet."

"Fine with me. Wow! We even finished before lunch! I hope they hurry, cause' I'm starving." The blonde said, rubbing her empty stomach.

"Remember what I said about gaining weight pig. Kiba won't be able to carry you if you eat like one." Sakura said with a smile.

"Shut up forehead."

* * *

Gaara shoved through the bushes, not bothering to hold the branches back for his _companion_. "Hey Gaara wait up! You're going too fast!" the brunette yelled. A branch that the redhead was holding flew back and smacked him right in the face, knocking him onto his back.

"AAAAHH!" Kiba yelled, rubbing his now sore, red face. "What was THAT for!"

"Because I hate you," Gaara glared down at the man on the ground. "We only have seven scrolls and it's already almost sunset! I want to finish this _stupid_ game, go home and get in bed with Sakura. Because after this, I definitely deserve it." He turned away from Kiba and started walking off.

He felt something thin press against his ankle and looked down, barely seeing the trip wire. Before Gaara could even react, a pulled back tree branch flew forward and nailed him straight in the face. "OH MY GOD!" he yelled holding his now bleeding nose.

"HAHAHAHAHA!" Kiba rolled around on the ground, "Now _that's_ what I call karma."

"SHUT UP!" Gaara ordered, silencing the focus of his irritation.

Finally they both got up, and without a word they started forward. There was a small clearing not too far ahead, and once they stepped into the open space they noticed there were holes all over the ground. Gaara pulled out the last scroll they have received and opened it. "In a crater you will find, something that'll make you shine…what the hell does that mean?"

"Maybe we just need to look in these holes and try and find the scroll." Kiba said, walking forward and trying to see down into the darkness. "Well it's deep enough so we can't see the scroll from above." He informed after rounding the clearing. He stopped at one near the edge and pointed down. "Let's try this one."

Gaara walked over and looked down the hole. "Well go on," Kiba urged. "Just stick your hand in the hole."

"How about _you_ stick your hand in there."

"What if something's down there waiting to CHOMP and eat my hand!"

"…"

"What?" the brunette arched a brow.

"So…you won't put your hand in because you're afraid something will try and eat it?" Gaara questioned.

"Yeah." He nodded.

Gaara's eye twitched. "So you want me to get my hand eaten instead?"

"It's better than my hand getting eaten!"

"Kiba."

"What?"

"Come over here…" the Kazekage said darkly and, stupidly, Kiba waltzed right over.

"What is it? Do you see it?"

Gaara formed a fist and hit the dog boy so hard over the head he blacked out and fell forward. After hitting the ground, Kiba was startled awake by the shock, and looked at the hole beside his face. A foot slammed down on the brunette's head and held him to the forest floor. "NOW REACH IN THAT HOLE AND LOOK FOR THAT DAMNED SCROLL!"

"But I don't want to!" Kiba cried out, whining.

"I SAID DO IT!"

"No!"

"YES!"

"Okay!" he yelled out when the pressure on his head increased. "I'll grab it! I'll grab it!"

Kiba reached down slowly, trembling a bit. With what they had been through today anything was possible. His hand touched the dirt at the bottom finally, after his whole arm was in the hole. A sigh of relief escaped his lips. "Well at least there wasn't anything dow-" Kiba yelled, ripping his hand from the hole and staring wide eyed at his bleeding finger.

"I TOLD YOU!" he stood, pointing an accusing finger at the amused redhead.

Gaara tried not to laugh aloud, "Yeah I know. Besides, the scroll is right there." He glanced over at a space of grass trying to hide another part of the sunken ground.

"Then why did you make me do it?" the brunette yelled at the redhead.

He shrugged. "Karma." Then he walked over and picked up the scroll. Eight down and two more to go. _Thank_ _God_.

Reading over it quickly, he began to walk off in the direction the clue pointed him in, completely forgetting about Kiba.

"Hey! Wait for me!" the dog boy yelled, scrambling off the ground and running after his stoic partner.

* * *

"Oh my God! What's taking them so long?" Ino yelled, tapping her foot in annoyance.

"Who knows. It's getting close to dusk, why don't we just leave?" Sakura suggested, knowing that when the boys finished they would probably just head home, considering how late it was getting.

The blonde ran up to her and enveloped her in a fierce hug. "That's the best idea you've had all day forehead! Come on! I'll treat you to dinner!" she said enthusiastically, beginning to walk off.

"Um…Ino? We could just use a teleportation jutsu to get out of here. I mean, now that we've finished, the rules don't apply right?" she asked, shrugging.

"Another great idea! See, I'm so hungry that I can't think straight! Come on, let's go!" Ino yelled, walking back towards her.

"When have you ever thought straight pig?" Sakura asked, right before they both vanished from the forest in a puff of smoke.

* * *

"All we have to do is make it to the tower and it's over!" Gaara said excitedly, dashing through the trees towards the building at the center of the forest. Kiba trailed silently behind him, so tired by now that he was about to collapse from exhaustion. It was already dark out, it taking many hours and many precious bodily fluids to get the last two scrolls.

They both landed in front of the large doors that led to the tower. It had been so much easier to just kill people in this forest and transport to the center after getting _two_ scrolls. "Thank God…it's about time." The brunette yawned and started forward. Gaara followed closely behind and inside there was one last scroll waiting for them.

Gaara leaned over and picked up the cursed thing, unrolling it to its full length so they could see the whole message.

_Idiots,_

_I hope you enjoyed the little scavenger I designed, I did everything in my power to make this the worst day of your life. Especially you Gaara…I really don't like you. This was for deflowering my precious little Sakura! I know what you did to her…don't try and pretend like you didn't! Because you did…oh yes I know…because I know all. And Kiba…well I plain just don't like you either. _

_Hope you had fun!_

_Kakashi_

Gaara was so angry that he ripped the scroll in half. "WHAT?" he screamed at the top of his lungs, taking deep and slow breathes.

"I KNOW!" Kiba huffed, crossing his arms firmly over his chest. "Everybody likes me!"

The redhead's eye twitched as he slowly turned his head to the brunette. The paper crumpled in his hands from his now tight grip. "I'm going to kill him."

The sand on Gaara's body flew off, almost like an explosion, taking its master off to his destination.

Kiba blinked, "HEY!" he shouted. "I can't believe he just left me here!"

* * *

Gaara dropped to the floor in Sakura's living room. He went as quickly as he could towards her room and slammed the door open. Sakura jumped, looking up from her book. She was comfortably situated in bed, dressed in some shorts and a tank top. Without a word he walked towards the bed, kicked off his shoes, and crawled beside her, wrapping his arms tightly around her waist and resting his head on her stomach.

"…I missed you…so…_so_…much. Please don't ever make me do something like that again." He begged, nuzzling his face into her abdomen. "Can I sleep with you tonight? Please? I'll behave, I just had the worst day of my life."

She continued to stare down at him in shock. The scavenger hunt couldn't have been _that_ bad, could it? But, she had missed him, and so, vowing to control herself as well, she nodded.

"Of course." She wrinkled her nose. "But shower first please. I just put clean sheets on."

He nodded and got up, disappearing behind the bathroom door. He didn't take a long shower, but it was long enough to get all the blood and dirt off of his body. He wanted to be clean for his special night with Sakura. Once he was finally done, he got out and wrapped a towel around his waist. He really didn't want to get back in his tattered pants. He finally decided he would just wear his boxers to bed and hoped that he could control himself.

Finally Gaara came out, and threw his dirty clothes in the hamper in her room. "All clean." He told her, not able to show how truly happy he was to be with her.

She set her book on her nightstand and moved over, patting the spot she had previously occupied and giving him an inviting smile. He didn't need to be told twice, getting back in her bed and beneath the covers within a few seconds. Wrapping his arms around her waist again, he was back into the position he had been when he came to lie with her the first time. "I love you Sakura." He said simply, wanting her to know he truly meant it.

Placing her hand on his head lovingly, she got comfortable. "I love you too." She sighed, sleep overtaking her. She had everything she needed, and she was happy.


	7. Wakeup Call

**Typhoon**

_Chapter Seven_

-Wakeup Call-

"No."

"But Gaara!" Sakura huffed, crossing her arms defiantly. "Why not?"

He mimicked her actions and gave her a hard stare, "_Because_, Sakura, you could get hurt, and I will not allow that to happen."

She rolled her eyes, adjusting her hands so that they were set on her hips. "Gaara that's stupid. So what, I'm not allowed to go on missions anymore? Because you're afraid?"

"I'm not…afraid…" he tried to correct her, even though it was the truth. He _was_ afraid. He was fearful for the first time in his life. "And you can go on missions, as long as I am there to protect you."

Tsunade cleared her throat and gave the redhead a harsh glare. "Which will not be allowed. As Kazekage you know that if anything did happen to you, per chance, that it could start a war. It also looks bad if we need help from a Kage to go on a simple recon mission."

"But-"

"No buts!" the blonde raised her finger to silence him. "Until the wedding, Sakura is still a Leaf shinobi, and therefore under my command, not yours. She was assigned this mission because her skills are needed for it, not because I'm trying to be cruel to you."

Still determined not to leave her side, Gaara persevered. "Yes I understand, but couldn't I just tag along? I won't do anything."

"Noooooooooooooooooooo!" Tsunade elongated her word. "I'm sorry Kazekage, but you're just going to have to find something to do around the village until Sakura gets back."

"It'll be fine. I'll only be gone for two days, it won't take that long." Sakura assured, placing her hand on his shoulder.

"Two days?!" he growled, recalling the two days he had been without Sakura when she first left Suna six months ago. "But Sakura…two days is agonizing."

"I know. But when I get back we can go to Suna, and then I'll be too far away for Shishou to send me on any missions." She assured him.

Reluctantly he gave his nod of approval. "Fine. But…hurry back."

"I will. Want to walk me to the gate?" Sakura asked hopefully, not yet ready to say goodbye.

Giving her teacher a small glare, Gaara took Sakura's hand and walked out. He was going to walk her there as slow as possible, he wanted to soak in every last moment he had with her. "So…what am I supposed to do while you're gone…?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. You could take in the sights, train with Naruto and Kakashi-sensei, scare Shikamaru away from Temari… there's all kinds of things you could do." Her eyes widened, suddenly remembering something. "Oh! I almost forgot." She reached into her kunai pouch and pulled out her house keys. Handing them to him, she said, "Here. You can stay at my place if you want to while I'm gone. You don't have to, but, you know, just in case…." She trailed off, losing confidence in her idea.

He took the keys from her and nodded, "It'll be the closest thing to you I can get for the next two days." He sighed, placing them in his pocket. It wasn't too long before four other Konoha Anbu appeared, ready for the mission.

"Morning Sakura, Kazekage-sama." One of the female shinobi bowed.

Gaara stared down at Sakura for a while, knowing it was time for her to go. He placed his hands on her shoulders and let out a deep sigh. "Be careful…if something happened to you…I…I just don't know what I'd do." He admitted.

"I will. Don't worry, I'll be back before you know it." She said, giving him a reassuring smile.

He nodded, trying to keep himself from becoming too depressed. After all, she wasn't even gone yet. He moved his hands from her shoulders and cupped her face, pressing his forehead against hers. "I love you, please…come back safely." He leaned down, pressing his lips against her and giving her a soft kiss.

She blushed, returning his kiss. Pulling away, she cupped his face with her hand. After a few moments, it was time to leave. So, with a sigh, she pulled away from him.

"Don't worry Kazekage-sama, I'll make sure she returns safely." An Anbu with an eagle mask reassured him.

Giving his face another gentle caress, Sakura turned and walked towards the gate. And with one final look back, she jumped into the trees with her Anbu team.

He stared of after her, not leaving his spot until he could no longer feel her chakra. The next two days would be some of the loneliest of his life. He was just glad that after this he would never have to be without her ever again. His sand finally picked up and swept him away to try and _occupy _his time.

* * *

_**Two Days Later…**_

The mission did not go as planned. Sure, they had gotten all the information that they needed, but as they were leaving Waterfall Country, they were attacked. They fought long and hard, and she was just barely able to get out of there alive.

A wave of remorse washed over her then. The entire Anbu team had been killed in the battle. She was there to heal them and heal them only. So, even though she wanted to help fight, her chakra was needed for something else. She shut her eyes tightly, trying to force the memory out of her mind for the time being, but it plagued her thoughts.

_She knelt over one of the fallen Anbu members, who was bleeding terribly from his left side, "It'll be ok," Sakura tried to assure him, focusing all her power on the wound now. She couldn't let him die. _

_A sharp gasp came from the man on the ground, "Sakura!"_

_She turned her head around, going wide eyed. One of the Waterfall shinobi lunged at her, ready to attack her in her open stance. _

_In a mad dash the man who was wearing the eagle mask dove in front of the healer, taking the blow for her. He quickly killed the other ninja, but not before he was fatally injured. He laughed, trying to defend her still as she healed his teammate. _

"_Why?!" Sakura demanded, tears forming in her eyes._

_She could hear his forced laugh. "I promised the Kaze…kage…even I know he's had too much pain in his life. As an Anbu, I am dedicated to our Kage…and since Kazekage-sama is close to the village, he will receive the warmth from our fire as well!"_

She wondered if he would have made that promise to Gaara had he known it would cause him to die. But part of her told her that he would have done it regardless.

On top of that, she had to join the battle anyways, and was now suffering from complete chakra exhaustion. Her body was tired, her mind needed rest, and she was emotionally drained. And one of the enemy ninja had poisoned his kunai and managed to graze her cheek with it. She groaned as another memory came over her mind then.

_By now everyone had either been killed or fatally injured, and she had to join the fight in order for them to get out of there safely. She killed off one of the last ninjas, getting caught by surprise in the process by a huge guy who had kept himself hidden. She dodged in the nick of time, but her cheek had been cut. The man laughed at her._

"_You're dead now. It won't even matter if you make it out of this battle alive. The moment I cut your cheek your fate was sealed." He chortled maniacally._

_Poison. She disposed of him shortly after. Then she joined in the other battle with the female Anbu. In the process, her left side had gotten hit with some sort of jutsu that had an acidic property. So her clothes where melted a bit, and the skin covering her left arm and side was gone, leaving her injured muscles for the world to see. She and the Anbu were able to defeat the last enemy ninja, but not before the Anbu got hit in the chest with the acid jutsu, causing fatal damage to her lungs and other important internal organs. Running over to the last living ninja, she hoisted the girl up onto her shoulders, grimacing at the pain on her left side, but intent on carrying her the whole way back to Konoha._

"_Sakura-sama, put me down." The girl croaked out._

_Complying with her wish, she gently lowered her to the ground. "We have to keep moving. It won't take long for me to get you to the village." Sakura explained hurriedly, since she was beginning to feel the effects of the poison._

_Reaching into her kunai holster, the Anbu pulled out the mission scroll. "Take this to Hokage-sama. It has everything we were able to gather. My time is up in this world. I have just enough chakra to get rid of my body and the others, so that no enemy ninja can learn our secrets or our identities."_

_The pink haired medic took the scroll wordlessly, and got up to go home, silent tears rolling down her face. It was all her fault. She wasn't a good enough medic to save any of them. She wasn't a good enough ninja to not get wounded. She wasn't a good enough fiancé to keep her promise. She shook her head. Now wasn't the time to think of such things. She focused what little chakra she had left to slow down the rate that the poison was spreading through her system. This would give her just enough time to make it home. Home to Gaara._

Sakura recognized the symptoms of her poisoning, but couldn't do anything about it until she was in the hospital in a lab.

So, staggering slowly and breathing heavily, Haruno Sakura made her way back to Konoha. When she saw the gates her hope was renewed. She had promised Gaara that she would return safely, and return she did, albeit not safely. As she neared the gate she could feel the effects of the poison impairing her movement. She had to make it, for Gaara. Just as she reached the gate and saw the guards' startled expressions, she noticed the ground getting closer to her, and, before she hit, her world went black.

* * *

Gaara let out a bored sigh. This was the day that Sakura had said she would be coming back. He wondered if he should just wait at the gate for her return. Deciding against that so he wouldn't appear _too_ desperate, he leaned back against the bridge where he had proposed to Sakura.

He was content with watching the clouds float by, finding it somewhat calming. His peace was interrupted by two familiar chakras. Neji and Hinata appeared at the edge of the bridge, staring solemnly at him. "No." he simply said.

Both looked a bit confused. "What?" Hinata asked, stepping forward to tell the Kazekage the terrible news.

"I don't want to play croquet or go swimming or any one of the weird things you people do here." He explained, not even sparing them a glance.

Hinata looked down, unable to deliver the news to the unsuspecting redhead.

"Gaara." Neji said seriously, stepping forward and stopping beside his newfound friend.

Finally Gaara looked at him, suspicious from the aura the two were emitting. "It's Sakura."

He immediately perked up, almost excited. "She's back?"

"Well…" Hinata started.

The Kazekage could feel his muscles tensing, "What happened? Where is she?"

Neji cleared his throat, "Sakura was gravely wounded. She's in the hospital right now…she was the only one to come back from her mission. She's barely alive."

Gaara felt nothing. He had had this feeling before, and only when it had to do with Sakura. Everything had shattered for him, and there was nothing but darkness around him. Sand exploded from his gourd, swirling around him in a mad fury and causing Hinata and Neji to cover their faces to avoid irritation. When everything cleared they looked up to find him gone.

* * *

His entrance into the hospital lobby astonished most the staff and patients who were there. The furious, terrified Kazekage grabbed the nearest nurse by the shirt and held her threateningly. "WHERE IS SAKURA?!"

"R-Room 143A," she stuttered out, looking afraid for her life. He released her from his grip and took off down the hallway, trying to navigate through the building. He slid to a stop, seeing the matching room number, but felt his heart drop when he read the sign above it. _Intensive Care Unit_.

Luckily, there was a window built into the wall so that students could watch the procedures. He needed to see her, but he was afraid of what his reaction would be. Finally he looked in, doing his best to control his vortex of emotions. He had never seen Sakura so badly wounded. He gripped the clothes over his heart and tried not to panic. She was going to be alright, he told himself. After all, Tsunade was here, and he knew the Hokage would not let her student die.

* * *

"Shizune! Stabilize her now!"

"Yes Tsunade-sama!" The blonde Hokage had been working furiously on her student for six hours. She had to find out what type of poison was in Sakura's system and make an antidote. After that was administered, she needed to clean Sakura's wounds. It was a long process, because there was a lot of dirt embedded in her arm and side. Once that was clean, she got rid of all the traces of the acid, so that it wouldn't continue to eat away at her body.

At the moment she was healing her side, that being the more important wound. But Sakura was still fading, and fast. The battle and journey home had taken too much out of her poor student. Her body just wasn't strong enough to survive such a journey.

"Tsunade-sama! I'm losing her!"

She stopped in her healing and began to resuscitate Sakura. "Don't you die on me Sakura! You have people here who need you! I need you, Naruto needs you, and Gaara needs you! You can't leave us all with his wrath! He'll attack me, or worse, he'll destroy all my sake for sending you on that mission!" she yelled, hoping that her student could hear her.

Suddenly everything was fine, and the pink haired girl resumed her breathing. Then, something amazing happened. Her arm began to heal itself, slowly and steadily. Shizune gasped. "She must be using the chakra she gained to heal herself subconsciously. Is this possible?"

"Apparently so Shizune." Smiling, she continued healing Sakura's side. "I always knew you were a fighter Sakura. I always knew."

* * *

Tsunade walked out of the operating room, exhausted and sweating. She was met with a crowd of people waiting to hear the news on their pink haired friend. Ignoring everyone else, she walked straight over to Gaara. Placing a hand on his shoulder, she asked,

"Would you like to go in?"

The redhead stared at the woman, nodding slowly. She could tell that he was doing all in his power to keep his sadness in. He walked past her and stopped with his hand on the doorknob, before glancing back. "Thank you…Tsunade." He pushed the door open then and closed it quickly. The room was dim, and Sakura was fast asleep, most likely recuperating. Gaara went to the viewing window and pulled the curtains over it so they could have some privacy from the crowd.

He walked slowly to her side, taking her hand carefully in his. He didn't want to wake her from her rest, after all. "I'm…so happy." He said to her, knowing that she couldn't hear. He leaned down and kissed her forehead, getting to his knees then and taking her hand with both of his. He couldn't believe how overwhelmed with relief he was. He let his forehead rest on the hospital bed and shut his eyes tightly. "Sakura…I'm so relieved…I don't know what I would have done if I had lost you." He whispered, and then finally released the emotions he had been holding in. He felt something slide down his cheeks, something that he hadn't felt since he was a small child. Giving her hand another tight squeeze, he allowed himself to cry for the first time in fifteen years.

* * *

Sakura eased her eyes open, feeling sore and utterly exhausted. She looked around the dim room, taking in the sight and noting she was in the hospital. She turned her head to the side and saw Gaara was fast asleep in the chair closest to her bed.

She let a small smile overcome her face. For a while she thought she would never get to see his face again. Her expression turned to one of pain as she remembered everything that happened. And, not wanting to wake him up, she tried to silence her sobs as tears rolled down her cheeks.

Despite her attempts, the moment he felt her distress he was awake. He was up instantly and by her side, taking her hand with his. "Sakura what is it? Are you alright?" he asked, taking a seat on the edge of her bed and leaning over her. He wanted as much contact as possible. He moved his free hand to her cheek, wiping the tears away. He didn't want to see her cry. He just couldn't bear it.

She looked into his eyes that were so full of worry. She had caused him pain, it was all her fault. "N-n-no." was all she could get out before her body was wracked with sobs.

He repositioned himself so that he was beside her with his arms wrapped tightly around her. Now he just wanted her to cry, it seemed that the action made you feel better, as if you were letting all the sadness leave your body with the flow. "It's ok," he whispered into her ear, resting his head on hers. "Everything is going to be ok."

She pulled away from him, slightly angered at his words. "It's not going to be ok Gaara! They all died because of me! Because I wasn't good enough! How can you love such a failure?! I've caused you pain again by breaking my promise to return safely. All I'm good for is hurting people!" she wailed, the tears flowing down her face now.

He angled her chin up with his finger, forcing her to meet his gaze. "Sakura it is not your fault. I love you…I'll love you even if you go crazy and kill everyone we know. Nothing you can do will ever make me love you less. It's just impossible." He explained giving her a soft, comforting kiss. He wanted to take all her sorrows away. If it were possible he'd bear them all himself. "This is how our world works, people die and you are never going to be able to stop all of them. And please Sakura, I've caused you so much more pain…yet you continue to pour your love into my soul. So stop this, you and I both know you did your best and you came back…you came back to me…and that's all I could ever want." He said sincerely, kissing her again, this time remaining on her lips longer.

As he pulled away she wound her arms around his neck, bringing him back to her. She kissed him desperately, realizing that what he said was true. She still felt bad, but knew that it would only cause her more pain if she continued along that path. When they pulled away, she gave him a tender smile and caressed his cheek, just as she had the day she left.

"I was afraid I would never see you again. That's what kept me going." She admitted.

He let out a small laugh, "You know I would never let you die without seeing you again. So it was impossible that you would succumb to your injuries. Besides…" he stopped, his face becoming serious. "I would see you soon either way. This world…means nothing to me anymore if you are not in it."

She chose not to say anything about his admission, knowing that she would probably do the same if he were gone. Before anything more could be said on the matter, the door to her room was opened.

"I'm glad you're awake." Tsunade said, walking over and checking Sakura's chart. She decided not to comment on the fact that Gaara needed to give Sakura her space. She knew it would only result in angering the couple. Her face turned serious.

"Sakura, I need you to tell me everything that happened."

Knowing that she would have to talk about it eventually, she slowly began to sit up in the bed with Gaara's help. She told them the whole story, not being able to stop the tears from falling again. But Gaara was there for her, and so she was comforted. When it was all over, Tsunade sighed.

"Well I'm glad you made it back ok and you got the scroll. I'm sorry that you had to go through all that. A memorial will be held for the fallen Anbu." Tsunade said, trying to help her student feel better.

Looking up at her mentor, Sakura couldn't help but ask. "Shishou? How long have I been in the hospital?"

"Two days. You were immediately taken into ICU when you arrived, and Shizune and I operated on you personally. We almost lost you on the table at one point. But then you came back, and your body began to heal itself. Afterwards, you were in a miniature coma, too exhausted to function." The blonde admitted.

Sakura turned back to her lover and put her head on his shoulder. He had to wait for her for four days. "I'm sorry." She sighed, not wanting to be specific.

His only answer was a soft smile. He leaned forward and kissed her forehead lovingly. "It's alright Sakura. As long as you are alive it's ok. I'm just glad you're alright." He told her, almost forgetting that Tsunade was in the room.

The Hokage couldn't help but feel envious of the two. She remembered Dan and Jiraiya, both of which she had loved very much, and had had to endure both of their deaths. She didn't think either Sakura or Gaara had the mental capacity anymore to live without the other. You didn't see that too often in this messed up world of theirs.

She quietly left the room, wanting to give the young couple some peace and quiet before everyone else found out that Sakura had woken up.


	8. Party Time

**Typhoon**

_Chapter Eight_

-Party Time-

Sakura locked her apartment door with a sigh. Turning to Gaara, she gave him a weary smile. "Finally home." She said, having just been discharged from the hospital that morning.

"Yes, it's about time. Now I finally have you all to myself." He said deviously, taking her hand gently leading her to the couch, sitting down with her still standing in front of him. He gave her arm a tug and she fell on him, her legs straddling his lap. "I missed you," he told her for only the millionth time. She leaned down and met his wanting lips with her own.

"I missed you too." She murmured against his lips.

She brought her hands up and threaded them through his hair. Taking control of the kiss, she tugged his head back in order to get a better angle on him. She could feel his reaction more than she could see it, he was clearly excited from her playful behavior. Maybe he liked playing rough, after all he was Sabaku no Gaara. Being soft and tender wasn't really his persona. He placed his hands on her hips and pressed her body closer to his. His fingers were already playing with the hem of her skirt, wanting it gone.

Sakura wriggled in his lap, teasing him and feeling his breath hitch. Leaving his mouth, she began to trail kisses down his neck. When she reached the collar of his shirt, she removed her hands from his hair and ripped it open, wanting it out of her way. She continued to kiss his neck, until she reached the juncture between the base of his neck and his shoulder. Kissing it softly, she bit him hard. Then her tongue darted out, and she soothed the irritated skin. She didn't know why, but she wanted to see what happened if she drove him mad.

With permission now he didn't hesitate to pull her skirt off, having taken the liberty of bringing her shorts down as well. He played daringly with her panties. How he wanted them off as well. But surprisingly, it was getting harder to focus while she nibbled on his sensitive skin.

Not really surprised at the turn of events, she gripped his shirt and tore it open, vest and all. Once his chest was revealed to her she raked her fingernails down the planes of his stomach, all the while continuing her trail of kisses across his shoulder.

He tried to continue with his antics as she moved down, though it was becoming more and more difficult with every little touch. It was odd, he wasn't able to show dominance, and he wanted to have her in control. He smiled happily, knowing that this was going to be a whole new adventure for him. He crept his hand up her front and brought down the zipper, discarding her shirt swiftly. He was determined to rid her of all clothes this time and take it one step farther.

Letting her have free reign for the most part, since the clothing he wanted off was off, he placed his hand on the back of her head, encouraging her to continue.

She took his shirt off his arms and trailed kisses down his chest. Then she crawled out of his lap and placed her hands at his waist. Looking up at him and giving him a sultry look through her lashes, she grasped the hem of his pants and brought them down his legs slowly, removing his shoes in the process. Then her eyes met his, and she reached behind her back, unclasping her bra. Not breaking eye contact with him the whole time, she let it fall to the floor. Placing her hands on each side of his legs, she crawled back up to him, a devious smirk on her lips.

He placed his hand back on her hips, not bothering to hide his stare from her chest and her body. It was one of the many perks to Sakura being his, he really loved her body, and he got to see it whenever he wanted. Now that they were so close he knew they wouldn't stop. This was it, he was going to have Sakura in the only way he hadn't. His anxiety rising, he slowly pulled her last piece of clothing off. Now that it was becoming serious he needed to take control and show her just how dominate he could be. After throwing her undergarments off, he wrapped his arms around her waist and shifted her so she was on her back on the couch. He stayed above her, kissing her lovingly and mimicking her earlier actions. He trailed his kisses down her throat, biting her every now and then. He stopped at her chest, not getting the chance yet to fully explore his new found territory.

Her breathing was ragged by now, since she loved it when he took control. Not wanting to be the only one naked, she reached up and pulled his boxers down his waist, eyes going wide at what she had revealed. Sure it wasn't her first time seeing one, since she had to give physicals at the hospital, but this was different. This was _hers_.

He returned to her face and she could feel him begging for entrance. She couldn't even feel her heart beat anymore, it was simply vibrating, unable to calm itself. He leaned down and kissed her forehead, then her temple, trying to show just how much he cared for her. Finally he kissed her lips, letting them linger for a moment. "I love you," he told her. Then she could feel the pressure, but knew he was waiting for permission.

Her breath hitched, and, before she could give it, loud banging was heard from the other side of her front door.

"Forehead open up! I can sense your chakra so don't even pretend to not be home!" Ino's voice shouted through the door.

She groaned in annoyance, pressing her forehead against Gaara's. "I'll get rid of her." She said, as he got off her. Grabbing a blanket that she kept on the back of her couch, she wrapped it around herself and walked over to the door. She opened it to reveal Ino and Kiba.

"What do you want pig? I'm busy." She asked testily.

Taking in her pink haired friends' appearance, she arched a delicate brow. "Busy doing what?"

Sakura couldn't stop the blush rushing to her cheeks. She couldn't very well say, _Oh nothing just about to have sex with my fiancé for the first time, but thanks for ruining it._ "Just _things_ Ino, now go away!"

"Oh no!" The blonde shook her head. "Tonight is your bachelorette party! You're leaving tomorrow for Suna! So it has to be tonight! Now go get dres-" Ino froze, her eyes as wide as saucers. Kiba looked the same, their attention being fixated on something behind the covered girl in the doorway.

"Go away." Gaara said darkly, and by the angle Ino and Kiba's eyes were directed, it wasn't his face they were looking at. Hesitantly Sakura turned around and saw him standing stark naked in the doorway, and he did not appear that he cared. He just looked like he wanted to kill the two.

Ino tried to pull her shocked gaze away, but Sakura wasn't an idiot, she could tell her best friend was staring with envy.

"Way to shoot my self-esteem down," Kiba pouted, lowering his head in defeat.

Ino couldn't stop staring, and the only thing that came out of her mouth was, "Wow."

Sakura hastily turned and covered him up, not wanting anyone to see what was hers. "Stop staring pig! He's mine!" she yelled, pulling him closer to her body to be sure that he was totally covered.

The redhead blinked, feeling Sakura's bare body pressed against his. He moved his arms around her waist. "I'm sorry!" Ino yelled, unable to stop the blush on her face. "It's just so…wow." She went off again, almost in a daze. It wasn't as if she were attracted to her best friend's fiancé, but my god that was impressive.

"ANYWAYS!" Kiba interrupted, obviously mad that his girlfriend was fawning over some_thing_ else. "We're throwing you a bachelor party Gaara, so you're coming with me, and Sakura is going with Ino.

"Like hell I'm going _anywhere_ with you." Gaara glared at the man who had put him through a hellish scavenger hunt.

"Can't we just do this later? As I said before, we're busy." Sakura asked in a whine. Why was it that every time their clothes went flying, they always got interrupted? It was as if they were cursed.

"It's already late afternoon Sakura! What are you doing playing nighttime activities during the day anyways?" her friend glared and then gave Gaara a scolding look. "This is probably your fault, tempting her with pleasure! Now get dressed and get your butt out here and go with Kiba. Us girls have some serious preparations to attend to."

"Yeah you guys have the rest of your lives to go boom boom, one night is not going to kill you." Kiba said nodding, placing his hand on Ino's shoulder.

She shut the door in their faces and turned to face Gaara. Placing her head on his shoulder, she sighed. "I hate having friends." She said, not fully meaning it.

"That's why I try not to have any…they just don't ever leave me alone." He growled, glaring at the door to the man behind it. Reluctantly they both got dressed, Gaara having a bit more difficulty seeing as Sakura had literally ripped his clothes off. His shirt and pants were relatively ok, but she had broken the buckles on his vest. "Well it looks like I'll have to go change."

She blushed. "I'm sorry, I just couldn't control myself." Was all she could say as an explanation.

"It's alright. I'm just disappointed." He sighed, "I was so ready to just…dominate you." He smiled, now imagining it in his head.

Her blush only increased. She opened the door and walked out of her apartment, Gaara following close behind. With a short goodbye and a chaste kiss, he went with Kiba, while she went with Ino to her house.

Walking up to the blonde's room, she looked around. "So? What's the plan pig?" she asked raising a curious brow.

"The plan, forehead, is for you to shower off that Gaara smell, while I pick out an outfit for you. Hinata, Tenten, and Temari will be here soon, so you need to hurry." She said with a roll of her eyes.

Slightly afraid, Sakura took a quick shower. After drying her hair, Ino curled it into little ringlets. Then she did Sakura's makeup, only putting on a bit of eye liner and mascara. Turning towards the bed, she saw a silver strapless dress. "Oh no, there's no way I'm putting that on." She said with a shake of her head, causing her curls to bounce.

"Oh yes you are. You are going to be the hottest one at the club I'm taking you to. So put on the dress." The blonde said sternly.

Doing as she was told, she slipped on the dress. It was really form fitting, and stopped a few inches below her bottom, not really leaving much to the imagination. If only Gaara could see her now. Then she put on the five inch silver heels Ino had gotten to go with the dress, looping the straps up her calves in a similar fashion to ballet shoes. By the time she was done, Ino was ready, wearing a purple dress similar to her ninja outfit. Only it was a dress, so it didn't show her stomach, and there was a hole between her breasts, revealing her cleavage.

They walked downstairs just as her doorbell rang. The blonde opened it, squealing in delight at the sight of her friends and their dresses. Tenten was wearing a light pink dress that was tight all the way down, with loose straps that fell just off her shoulders. It also went just below her butt. Temari had on a dark green halter dress, also tight and ending mid thigh. Hinata's was a white pixie dress that had small straps and was tight around her chest, but flowed freely around her waist. It was a bit longer than everyone else's, but for the Hyuuga heiress, it was still extremely short.

They left the house then and headed for the newest club Konoha had to offer. Walking in, Ino yelled, "All drinks are on me!" and immediately made a beeline for the bar. After a few rounds of drinks, the girls headed out onto the dance floor. Since they all had someone, they decided to dance with each other, bumping and grinding into their other girlfriends. Feeling totally exhilarated, Sakura threw her hands up in the air and began to sway her hips to the catchy beat of the music, her dress sparkling in the light, causing all the males in the club to stare at her. Maybe it was a good thing Gaara wasn't here after all.

* * *

Finally alone in his hotel room, Gaara rummaged through his bag. Kiba had told him to dress normally, luckily he had thrown one of his shirts and some charcoal grey jeans in while he hurriedly packed. He undressed and decided to shower before leaving. He had no idea what they were going to do, but he knew it couldn't be good. When his shower ended, he walked out of the bathroom, a towel around his waist and another in his hand, trying to dry his hair.

He pulled on his boxers and then got into his dark boot cut pants. Finally he stuck his arms through the arm holes in his shirt and tugged it down over his head. It was a black t-shirt, fitting him nicely, and had the symbol for Suna on it in white. He didn't have anything other than his ninja shoes, so those would just have to do. He stuck his hands in his hair and ruffled it, so that it would stick up properly. If he did see Sakura tonight he wanted to look good for her.

Now that he was ready he headed out, leaving all his other weapons behind. It didn't put his mind at ease, but he didn't think they would be doing anything dangerous. When he arrived only Naruto and Neji were there. Naruto had his black under shirt on and his orange pants. The red head sighed, deciding not to even start with the blonde. Neji was dressed more formally than their friend. He had his hair tied back like he had in their younger years, with a tan long sleeved sweater and black slacks.

"GAARA!" a loud voice yelled. "I SEE YOU LOOK YOUTHFUL TONIGHT!"

"God no." Gaara groaned, smacking his hand to his forehead. Lee ran forward, waving energetically. He had a forest green turtleneck on with matching slacks.

"Are you ready to go wild tonight?! So much youth!"

Shikamaru rounded the corner then, "Could you be any louder Lee? God, so troublesome." He sighed, his hands in his pockets. He had a white button down shirt on, un-tucked, and black dress pants. He nodded to Gaara, "Congrats. You're marrying a mental patient."

The Kazekage shrugged, _Heh, it was true_, he thought. Naruto glanced around, trying to locate the last member of their group. "Where's Kiba?"

"He said he was on his way, he had to go get something else." Neji explained, clearly not wanting to go on this crazy ride.

"I'm here! I'm here!" Kiba yelled, running up and waving his hand in the air. He stopped and let a huge grin come to his face. "Nice Gaara! I like your shirt! Representing Suna! Look!" he pulled on his shirt.

Gaara went wide eyed and almost started foaming at the mouth. Kiba wore a white shirt with the Suna emblem in black on the front. "We're TWINS!"

Falling back about to black out from pure shock, Neji caught him before he could go too far. "Kiba that's really…" the Hyuuga began, but was interrupted by the energetic blonde.

"AWESOME! Where can I get one!?" Naruto asked excitedly.

"Creepy…" Neji finished with a sigh.

Finally Gaara recovered and walked up to his most hated friend, grabbing the shirt and ripping it off, tearing he fabric. "No. Way. In. Hell." He stated, throwing the offending cloth into a garbage can. It was then that Kakashi decided to walk up, dressed as he usually was, since he didn't care. He stopped by Kiba and looked at him oddly,

"Why don't you have a shirt on?"

"Gaara ripped it off!" Kiba pointed accusingly at the redhead.

"Did he now? I knew it." Kakashi sighed, pulling out his book.

"Knew what?" Gaara glared, his vendetta against this man resurfacing. He was going to pay for the scavenger hunt.

"That you were a flaming homosexual."

Gaara's eye twitched, and he was about to retort when someone behind the teacher caught his gaze. "What the HELL are you doing here?!" he yelled, stomping forward and shoving Kakashi out of the way to see Sasuke.

The dark hair man smirked, "Am I not allowed in on the fun? I'm _celebrating_ your soon to be off marriage." He snickered. Gaara lunged at him, both his arms being grabbed by Neji and Naruto, who saved Sasuke from a beating. When Gaara finally settled the two let him go and he turned away from the Uchiha.

"Let's just go already." He ordered, wanting this night to be over so he could be with Sakura once more. _Only one more day in this messed up place_, he told himself.

"Alright! Kakashi lead the way!" Kiba laughed. Unenthusiastically Kakshi started forward. "Oh yeah!" Kiba ran to Gaara and pulled out a black blind fold.

"No."

"Yes!"

"I said no." Gaara glared.

"Oh come on, it's only for a little bit." Kiba begged. Neji came beside the two and gave Gaara a nod.

"I'll lead you…so you know you won't die." The calm man gave Kiba a look and then sighed. Reluctantly the redhead agreed and Kiba tied the hindrance over his eyes.

They were finally on their way, Neji guiding Gaara, both comfortable in their silence. They didn't need words. It didn't take too long, before they were finally pulled into a loud room with booming music. Kiba ran to Gaara and pulled off the blindfold. The sight he saw horrified him. There were oddly colored lights, and only men aside from the half dressed girls on the stage filled the place. "A strip club?!" the redhead glared at the dog boy hatefully.

"HEY LADIES! BACHELOR IN THE HOUSE!" Kiba yelled, getting most of the girl's attention.

Neji looked uncomfortable, "I don't think Tenten would be happy if she knew I were here."

"YOUTH!" Lee ran off, taking a girl in each arm.

"There is something seriously wrong with him." Shikamaru sighed, getting nods from broth Gaara and the Hyuuga.

Kakashi was out of sight by now, and some of the strippers made their way over to their unsuspecting prey. "Looky girls, it's the Kazekage. I hear he's marrying Haruno Sakura." A blonde wearing a string bikini that hardly even covered the center of her breasts smiled, latching onto his arm.

"Haruno Sakura?" a brunette asked, latching onto his other arm. He was trying really hard not to lose his cool, he might just have to murder someone tonight. "She's nice, but she didn't fill out."

"She filled out just fine." Gaara started, trying to shake them off his arms, despite their iron grips.

"Aw, so cute. Do you like small breasts Kazekage-sama? We can please your unmet needs, I'm sure you've never been pleasured like we can deliver." They both said, making sure they were pressing their chests against him. Despite the embarrassed blush on the redhead's face he was furious. He was faithful to his Sakura.

"Actually I do," he ripped his arms from their grasp, causing a look of confusion to cross their faces. "Seeing as I find fighting and cleverness more attractive than big breasts. And when I want to be with her, I can press her against my body without packs of _fat_ getting in the way. So if you'll excuse me, I'm leaving." He told them, heading for the door. Neji followed, not wanting to be part of this scene.

"Wait for me Gaara!" Naruto called after him, leaving with them and standing outside the joint.

"Well that was horrible." Gaara sighed.

"I'll say! How dare Kiba take us there! I don't want to see indecency like that!" Naruto bellowed, crossing his arms.

The door opened and Shikamaru came out, a slight blush on his face. "I can't believe you left me in there with that crazy man."

Neji sighed and looked around at the group, "Why don't we just go where our ladies are? Tenten told me where they were going tonight, that should make the evening better."

The door opened again and Kiba rushed out with an aghast Uchiha. "I never want to go in there again." Kiba nodded and looked at the group outside. "Oh hey!" he laughed.

"We're going to go see the girls!" Naruto cheered happily.

"Oh that's a good idea!" Kiba nodded, wanting to see his blonde lover. Gaara didn't miss the smirk on the Uchiha's face, but he chose to ignore it. Sakura was his now and he knew it, it was pointless wasting jealousy on that stupid emo.

Neji took the lead since he knew where the place was. It didn't take too long to get there, and when they did they found themselves in front of a nice looking club. The Hyuuga gestured for the others to go inside. They entered, finding the place crowded with bodies. How on earth were they going to find the girls in here? Gaara pushed his way through the crowd, trying to spot his pink haired fiancé anywhere. Finally, through a pair of bodies he saw her, dancing with Ino in a very sensuous way.

* * *

They had been dancing for about an hour now, and she was getting sweaty. She and Ino had decided to dance with each other since they didn't want to dance with any of the guys here. But a few minutes ago this guy had come up behind her and began dancing. Every once in a while he would move a bit closer, as if he thought she didn't notice. He moved towards her again, this time bumping against her. But before she could turn around and tell him off, his presence was gone, being replaced by a familiar one. _Oh crap_. She turned around to see Gaara glaring down at the man who was attempting to put the moves on a Kage's wife-to-be. He looked back at her, his eyes filled with anger, though it wasn't aimed at her.

"What are you doing?" he asked harshly.

"I'm dancing, what does it look like?" she asked, raising a brow.

He opened his mouth to retort, but nothing came to mind. He just grabbed her hand and pulled her against him. A smile graced his face, _Ah nice small breasts_, he thought happily.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed into him more, resuming the sway of her hips. "Well since you're here, dance with me." She ordered, a coy smile gracing her lips.

He laughed and set his hands on her hips, pressing her against him further. "Fine." He smiled, leaning down and kissing her cheek, moving his lips to her ear and then giving her a small bite on her neck.

She brought her fingers into his hair, loving the feel of his short locks. She gave a small tug and bit his neck in return, remembering that he liked it when she did it earlier. She placed her leg between his, so that she was practically straddling him, and resumed dancing.

Off on the sidelines Naruto stared in shock. He was watching Hinata and Tenten dance. "Hinata-chan never danced like that with me!" he pouted, turning to Neji, who was also wide eyed. He had never before seen his favorite cousin and wife dance in such a way. Naruto ran out onto the floor and came up behind Hinata, wrapping his arms around her. The startled girl turned her head swiftly, only to be met with Naruto's lips pressing against hers softly.

"Let's dance Hinata-chan." He whispered into her ear. She placed her arms over his and continued to sway, blushing the whole time.

Neji walked over to his wife, giving her a loving smile. He did adore her so, "Hello my love."

Tenten turned around, her eyes sparkling at the sight of her husband. "Hello my dearest," she smiled back, taking his offered hand. He pulled her closer, moving with her to the beat. It was one of the few times he let loose for his one and only. This was much better than some strip club.

Ino blinked and looked to see Kiba there as well, shirtless for some reason. She walked up to him, poking his nice stomach. "Where's your shirt baby?"

"Gaara ripped it off," he sighed, explaining once again.

"Ok…?" the blonde laughed and pulled her boyfriend back to the mass, beginning to dance with him. "That's ok, I like seeing your body anyway." She purred, making him smile as well.

Gaara turned Sakura around so that her back was pressed against him, his hands over hers, resting on her hips. He leaned down again, kissing the junction between her throat and her shoulder. His cold eyes shifted up when Sasuke took a spot in front of Sakura.

Sakura herself almost rolled her eyes at the situation. She ground her hips into Gaara's, making eye contact with Sasuke. 'His' she mouthed to the glaring Uchiha. Then she reached her right hand up and placed it on the back of the redhead's neck, bringing his head down in order to give him a passionate kiss. When she pulled away, she smirked at the knowledge that Sasuke had left the dance floor.

A satisfied smirk crept up his face. "Have I told you yet how attractive your cynical side is?" he asked, letting his hands trail lower on her body.

She smiled at him. "No. Have I told how sexy your overprotective side is?" she asked, moving her hips into his touch.

"Is that so?" he wondered, trailing more kisses down her neck. "In that case, I won't hold back. I don't want anyone but me to see you like this anymore. Let's go back to your house." He whispered huskily into her ear.

"Ok." She answered, feeling the sand sweep around their bodies. When they were deposited in her bedroom, she turned in his arms and kissed him full on the mouth. "So, do you like my dress?" she asked as she pulled away.

"I do," he smiled pushing her back against the nearest wall, trapping her with his arms. "I love it," he said softly, tracing his fingers down her arms as he kissed her neck, moving slowly down her chest. "I'd probably like it better on the floor," he put in.

She put her head against the wall, enjoying the attention he was giving her body. "Really? I don't know if I like it. It's so tight that I couldn't even put a bra on. And I had to wear a thong so that you wouldn't see the lines through the dress." She said with a smirk. See how he reacted to _that_.

He stopped his caresses, letting his gaze fall to her chest. She was definitely not wearing a bra. _Less to rip off_, he smirked letting his hand rest on her hip, grabbing the fabric and tugging it down some. "I see,"

She blushed at the heat in his gaze. It didn't matter how many times Gaara had seen her chest, it was still slightly embarrassing. Not knowing what else to do, she wrapped her legs around his waist. "Seeing is nice, but I think feeling is so much better." She said, pulling his hips into hers for emphasis.

"I like feeling," he smirked, moving his hand beneath her so that he could keep her up. He kissed her again, then took her from the wall and threw her onto the bed. She yelped, not having a chance to do much anything until the redhead was on her once more. He glanced down her body, sliding the dress completely off her then. He smiled as he went down and took off her heels, throwing them off into the room. He pulled his shirt off, and threw it on her face. "Here, wear this to bed. I don't want you in _anything_ else."

She hastily put it on, knowing that their activities had come to an end. Then she sat up on her knees and pulled off the lacy underwear that Ino had made her wear, her gaze not leaving his for a moment. She tossed it off the bed and crawled over to her side, getting under the covers.

After her antics, he started removing his pants, tossing them aside as well. His body was screaming angrily at him for not doing what it wanted. He got in beside her, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her against him. "You looked very beautiful tonight," he smiled.

She snuggled into his chest and returned his smile. "Thank you. I'm glad you got to see me, because I am _never_ putting that uncomfortable thing on again."

He laughed, nuzzling into her neck. "Goodnight."

"Night," she smiled, snuggling into his arms. She shut her eyes, and then a sudden sadness swept over her. This was the last night she would ever spend in her bed. Tomorrow she was leaving for Suna.


	9. Back to Suna

**Typhoon**

_Chapter Nine_

-Back to Suna-

Standing at the gates of the village, Sakura turned back with a sigh. It wasn't like this would be the last time she saw her hometown, but she didn't know when she would be coming back.

When she and Gaara got up that morning, he had helped her pack up her clothes and personal belongings. Temari, Shikamaru, Ino, and Kiba were coming with them to help with the wedding plans and negotiations between Sand and Leaf, so they were helping to carry her stuff. Everyone else had gathered at the gate to say goodbye. Even Sasuke was there.

Staring at the Hokage monument, she sighed once more. "I sure am going to miss this place."

Gaara looked over at her, following her gaze and almost feeling guilty. Almost. He hadn't really taken into consideration that she wouldn't be coming back to Konoha for a long time. She wasn't going to live here anymore, she wouldn't see her friends for maybe years. He finally focused on her face again. Did she really want to leave everything she knew and loved for him? She looked sad, which made his heart sink. "Sakura…if you don't want to go you don't have to…" he tried to sound sincere.

Startled, she looked to him. "It's not that. I'm just going to miss everything here…"

He tried not to take her statement offensively, but of course, he was Sabaku no Gaara, and he took everything the wrong way. "You know what Sakura don't to force yourself to come with me. If you don't want to leave your precious village we just won't get married." He crossed his arms angrily.

"What are you talking about?!" she asked, confused. "Of course I want to marry you! You can't blame me for being a _little_ sad to leave the place where I grew up!" she yelled at him, already tired of his childishness.

He blinked, taken back by her anger. "I'm simply telling you Sakura that if you really don't want to, you don't have to. I don't want to force you." He glared down at her, everyone around them letting out an audible sigh. This was almost expected from the two.

She continued to yell at him. "You're not forcing me! I just said I wanted to marry you! And marrying you means I have to move to Suna! There's nothing wrong with that!"

"Well," he stopped, not really understanding why he was trying to make Sakura stay. It seemed foolish. But before he could speak, Sasuke stepped forward.

"It's ok Gaara, you can leave Sakura here. I'll take _good_ care of her." The man spoke, keeping his dark eyes locked on Sakura. She _would_ be the one to continue the Uchiha line. Nobody else was good enough.

Gaara grabbed Sakura by the wrist and pulled her against him, "That's quite alright _Uchiha_." He looked back down at Sakura, who still seemed mad. "I'm sorry…I guess I just…" he sighed, but she seemed to understand and gave him a smile.

"Take me home Gaara." She said simply, talking about his mansion.

He nodded and looked to the others accompanying them on this journey. "Are you all ready?" he asked. Ino and Kiba nodded, Shikamaru didn't really care enough to answer, and Temari already started heading for the gate.

"Bye everyone!" the sand shinobi waved.

"Bye Sakura-chan! We'll see you at the wedding!" Naruto yelled happily, running to hug his lifelong friend.

She hugged him back. "Take care of Hinata." She said, knowing that he would.

He gave her a thumbs up pose that would make Gai-sensei proud. "Of course I will! As my woman, Hinata-chan will always be taken care of!"

This statement caused the Hyuuga to blush. She gave Sakura a tentative hug, trying her best not to get any darker than she already was. "Bye Sakura. Take care."

"You too Hinata." She answered, moving to walk back over to Gaara's side. Before she could get there Kakshi stepped in front of her.

"Remember what I said Sakura. Numbers one, two, and three."

Stepping around him, she gave him a pat on the shoulder. "Whatever Sensei. Did you ever think that I may like number two?" she asked, latching onto Gaara's arm.

Kakshi just stood there, flabbergasted.

"Bye guys!" Sakura shouted with a wave.

With that the group of shinobi left the Konoha gates and took off towards Suna. Sakura took a deep breath. It was odd. She was going to live in Suna, for the rest of her life, but the thought made her smile. She was going to live in Suna with Gaara…for the rest of her life.

* * *

Seeing the gates of Suna in the distance, Sakura smiled. They were almost home. When they entered the village, a crowd of people was waiting for them. Before she could ask Gaara what was going on, they were swarmed by the people.

"Kazekage-sama! Is this your fiancé?"

"Look! It's Sakura-sama! Sakura-sama we missed you!"

Not used to the attention she was receiving, she clutched Gaara's arm closer to her body and tried to move behind him. All she wanted was to go home in peace, shower off the dirt from traveling, and go to bed. Was that too much to ask?

Sensing his love's want, Gaara stood in front of her, telling his village that he and Sakura needed rest from their long journey. "You can ask questions tomorrow," he waved to them and led Sakura off. The rest of the group followed, and once they reached the mansion they set Sakura's things in the living room and left.

"See you guys later!" Ino waved, taking Kiba with her to their hotel room.

"Yeah, I just bought a new house, cause no way am I living here anymore with you two." Temari laughed, taking Shikamaru by the arm and escorting him away.

Gaara looked down at Sakura and had his sand pick up all her bags and take them upstairs to _their_ room. They walked in and Sakura gasped, realizing that his room was a bit different than she remembered. Now there was a vanity near the large balcony, filled with perfumes and such, and the bed was adorned with a sheer black canopy.

"The room looks amazing." She said in awe, turning in a slow circle in order to take it all in.

"I'm glad you like it." Gaara said, a small smile on his face.

She walked over and sat on the bed, then began to pull her boots off. Sighing at the feel of the cool air hitting her sore feet, she looked over at him.

"It feels so good to be home." She said, smiling.

"It does." He nodded, letting his sand take her bags into their enormous closet, a part of his room she had not seen. "All your presents are in the closet, so you can arrange everything as you would like tomorrow or whenever you feel like it. If you need help don't hesitate to ask." He nodded and looked around, this seemed odd. The last time she had been here she was trying to save the Uchiha and they had a pretty interesting start. "Oh," he looked back towards the door. "I had the kitchen redone….so, it's not destroyed anymore."

She smiled. "Good. Are you gonna make me waffles in the morning?" she asked with a devious smile, remembering the last time they ate her favorite breakfast food.

The blush on his face did not go unnoticed. "We'll see, though we might have to wait till our wedding morning to make waffles…you know what happens when we have waffles." He smirked, giving her a knowing look.

She crossed her arms in a pout. "Fine." Then she stood up and walked over to one of her bags. She pulled out an extra set of clothes and her toiletries. Standing up, she turned back to him. "I'm going to get a shower and wash all this sand off me. Think about what you want for dinner." She said as she made her way towards his bathroom, a feeling of excitement going through her. She had never seen his bathroom before, and wondered if it would be as elegant as the one in her old room.

"I'll eat whatever and after you're done you might as well claim the second sink and place all your things in the drawers." He called after her. Deciding to be helpful, he went into the closet that was almost as big as her old room in the mansion. He started taking her things out of her bag and putting them in their own areas. By the time he was done, Sakura had gotten out of the shower and was taking her sweet time in the bathroom. He came out from their closet and slipped his shoes off, lying down in his soft bed. He was tired from their journey.

She walked out of the bathroom, wearing a pair of shorts and a tank top. Forgetting about food, she padded across the room to the bed and got in beside him. She wrapped her arms around his midsection and nuzzled his neck, letting out a contented sigh. "I'm considering skipping dinner just so I can go to bed sooner." She admitted.

"I'm not that hungry anyway," he sighed, having to get up and pull his shirt off. Once he was only in his pants he got back into bed with her and let her resume her snuggling.

"Ok, then we can stay here." She said with a smile.

Shortly after that they both fell asleep in each other's arms, not a care in the world.


	10. Council Requirements

**Typhoon**

_Chapter Ten_

-Council Requirements-

Sakura walked down the hospital hallway, a smile on her face. She missed this place. She looked down at the chart she was holding and frowned. She was on her way to check on a small girl, about four years old. Apparently the little girl had a serious case of leukemia, and it wasn't very likely that she would live to see her next birthday. When she reached the girl's door, she knocked gently. Hearing a soft 'Enter', she opened the door and walked in, a warm smile on her face. Hazel eyes stared back at her, almost lifeless.

"Hello! I'm Haruno Sakura and I'll be taking care of you today. What's your name sweetheart?" she asked kindly, holding her hand out for the girl to shake.

The orange haired girl grasped her hand weakly. "Akane." She replied quietly.

"Well Akane-chan let's see how you're doing ok?" Sakura asked, moving to examine the girl.

She stayed in the room for about an hour, joking with the young girl, her goal in making her smile. Suddenly the door was opened and in walked a messenger. Bowing to her respectfully, he said, "I'm sorry to interrupt Sakura-sama, but the Council wishes for your presence. It's urgent."

She raised a brow in confusion. "Alright, I will be there in a moment. You can wait in the hall."

Once the chuunin left the room she turned back to Akane. "Everything is all set. If you need anything, tell one of the nurses. If you have to, threaten them with telling me, and they'll bend over backwards to make you happy." She joked.

As she moved away from the bed, small hands grabbed her arm, halting her departure. She turned back to see the girl's hazel eyes shining with hope. "You'll come back and visit me, won't you Sakura-sama?" she asked desperately.

Smiling warmly, the pink haired medic reached out and brushed some of the girl's orange locks from her face. "As soon as I am able, I will come and read you a story. How does that sound?" She asked tenderly.

The young girl's face broke out into a tentative smile. "That would be wonderful Sakura-sama."

She left the room shortly after that, and was escorted to the council room by the chuunin. Thanking him, she knocked on the door, awaiting permission to enter. Once she received it, she walked into the room and looked around, confused. Why wasn't Gaara there?

A blonde woman she had never met gave her a warm smile. "Come sit Sakura-sama." She invited, patting the chair next to her.

Not wanting to appear rude, Sakura did as she was told. Before she could ask about her fiancé's whereabouts, a young brunette who looked vaguely familiar spoke up, a glare in place. "It's about time you got here. Did they not teach you in Konoha that keeping important people waiting is rude? But then again, maybe things are a bit more barbaric there." She growled, a look of contempt on her features.

"Since when are you important?" the blonde next to Sakura laughed, causing some of the others to let out a low chuckle.

Instantly she disliked the girl. Putting her left elbow on the table and showing off her ring to the girl, she placed her head in her hand. Glancing at the girl as if she wasn't important, she said, "Oh I'm sorry, I was just tending to a patient when I was asked to come. Did they not teach you here that it is rude to leave the sick to fend for themselves?" she raised a delicate brow then. "Because that's not how _I_ was taught in Konoha by the Hokage, Tsunade-_shishou_." She emphasized, sitting back in her seat and crossing her arms. It wouldn't hurt to remind her and everyone else here just who she was, and how respected she was in her home village. A lot of the council members looked offended by her statement. Was this Konoha shinobi belittling the village Hidden in the Sand?

Offended, the brunette gasped. "How dare you! You little-"

"Matsuri calm yourself. You offended Sakura-sama first, it was only right that she put you in your place. And we were only waiting for five minutes, learn some patience." The woman next to her said. After scolding the girl she glanced over at Sakura, placing her hand comfortingly on her shoulder. "And Sakura-sama, it might be wise for you to hold your tongue with such comments…you know how old men get. I would hate for you to get on the counsel's bad side." She smiled, trying to show that she only meant to help.

Sakura nodded, grateful to the other woman. She knew she shouldn't have said it, but sometimes she just couldn't control her temper. Turning back to the brunette, her eyes narrowed in recognition. So the brunette's name was Matsuri, that little girl Gaara had to go save a few years back. That explained why she didn't like her. Apparently the girl had a little crush on her fiancé. Great, this was the last thing she needed. However, the woman sitting next to her appeared to be on her side, and for that, she let her anger die down.

"Where is Gaara?" she asked no one in particular. It was then that an elderly man spoke up.

"Kazekage-sama is too busy to be bothered with this trivial meeting. We just called you here to discuss with you the finer points to becoming a Kage's wife." He said.

"Despite regulation," the blonde woman muttered.

Her brow scrunched together, confused at the situation and the blonde's comment. What else could there be that she didn't already know? It seemed that the woman next to her wasn't too pleased about this either.

"You see, Sakura-sama, there are a lot of requirements you must fulfill in order for you and Kazekage-sama to be married." Another member spoke up.

"Like what? I already know about all of the political and social requirements, having apprenticed with the Hokage for seven years. I know the ins and outs of what a Kage has to do in daily life." She said, still wondering what else they were talking about.

Ibiki spoke up then, wanting to assuage some of her confusion. "We realize that Sakura-sama, but there is one point in which Suna and Konoha differ in marriage contracts." He informed her.

Before she could ask what that was, another woman spoke up. "Since in Suna most of our Kages wound up being from the same line, we like to keep it that way. In order for you to marry Kazekage-sama, you need to be with child before the first year of your marriage is up."

Her brows rose at this news. She and Gaara had to have a kid before they'd been married for a year?! Don't get her wrong, she wanted to have kids, but it just seemed ridiculous to put a time period on it.

"Oh. Well, I can understand where you're coming from, but I'll have to discuss the matter with Gaara. It's as much his decision as it is mine, and I _respect_ his opinion." She informed them. That way, they knew that they couldn't back her into a corner, just because Gaara wasn't there to defend her.

"Kazekage-sama is well aware of these requirements," an older man sitting next to Matsuri said, his stare not at all welcoming.

The head of the counsel looked over to the man, suspicion all over her face. She didn't know if that was entirely true, but decided to deal with the matter later. "Anyways," she spoke up, silencing the rest of the room. She turned to face their leader's wife to be, "There will be some customs that you are not familiar with, so during this week I will be helping you understand those differences. I do not mean to inconvenience you, I would just hate if you were taken advantage of by some of the elders or other council members."

Standing up from her chair, the blonde woman next to her spoke to the whole room. "Well, that's all we needed to discuss with Sakura-sama. I'm sure she has more things that require her attention back at the hospital." At that declaration, she and the other council members made their way to the doors.

Surprised that the meeting was over so quickly, Sakura stood, following everyone out. As she was about to leave the room, Matsuri blocked her path. The girl sneered at her. "You might as well go home. Gaara-sama doesn't want, nor like children."

Knowing that Matsuri was just trying to intimidate her, she leaned close to the other girl's face. "Well, that doesn't mean that Gaara and I will refrain from the activities that create children now does it? Since he just can't seem to keep his hands off me when we're alone." Standing straight, she put her hand on Matsuri's shoulder and pushed her to the side. Walking past her, she turned slightly, wanting to get out one more verbal jab. "And Gaara's not some pedophile, so stop thinking that he will get with you, a mere _child_ of sixteen. You did say he hated children, after all." She smirked. Then she began to walk down the hallway, leaving a sputtering brunette in her wake.

As she reached the end of the hall, the blonde woman from earlier came up to her. "I didn't get the chance to introduce myself earlier Sakura-sama. My name is Hana." She said with a friendly smile, holding her hand out to the pink haired girl.

Sakura took it happily. It was nice to know that someone was on her side. "It's nice to meet you Hana-san. Thanks for standing up for me back there. I'm not entirely used to the way things are run here in Suna." She said with a sheepish smile.

"Nonsense my dear, always happy to help. After all, without any backup in there, you might have been eaten alive." She laughed, obviously only meaning in a verbal attack from the council. "If you ever need any advice, just come find me. I wish you and the Kazekage-sama the utmost happiness in your marriage." She said, before walking off.

She walked back to the hospital slowly. Kids. Wow. She had always wanted to have children of her own, and when she and Gaara had realized their feelings for each other all she could think about was having a son that looked exactly like his father. That way she would be able to tell what Gaara looked like when he was younger. She bet he was adorable. But she didn't know how he felt about it. Suddenly what Matsuri had said came back to haunt her. What if the girl was right? What if, because of his childhood, Gaara really _didn't_ want kids?

Entering the hospital, her thoughts were halted as she saw another familiar brunette leaning against the reception desk. Except this one she knew how to deal with.

"Just take the damn form. Suna needs a Head Medic, and I'm the one with the most experience. That little hussy isn't here anymore, so Gaara-sama needs me." Yoko said to the receptionist, whose eyes were the size of saucers having seen Sakura's approach.

Placing a hand on the unsuspecting woman's shoulders, Sakura jerked her roughly, causing her to turn towards her. "I'm sorry, but the position of Head Medic has already been filled." She said, glaring into the woman's startled eyes. "By me." She stated, holding up her ring hand.

Yoko gasped at what she saw. "What?!"

Sakura merely shrugged, as if she didn't care. "Yeah, I guess Gaara got tired of people calling me his whore, so he just decided to marry me. You know, so we can do such activities without it being wrong."

Furious and humiliated, the brunette woman stormed out of the hospital. Sakura let out a sigh. For the rest of the day, she decided, she would drown herself in her work. She would wait until Gaara came to pick her up at five to think about having children.

* * *

Gaara let out a loud yawn. He was utterly exhausted from the mountains of paperwork that had been forced upon him today. He wondered why the council had given him so much in one day, they weren't usually that obnoxious. He sighed, not really wanting to think anymore. All he wanted to do was get Sakura from the hospital and go home. It was reassuring that now he didn't have a time limit with her anymore, she was here to stay. Forever.

Being with her every day was something he was definitely looking forward to. He looked up then, seeing he had already made it to the hospital. Right on time as always, he walked into the lobby to see his lovely fiancé waiting for him. "Ready?"

She smiled up at him, looping her arm through his. "Always ready."

He nodded and led her out, keeping his eyes focused ahead. "So how was your day?"

"Well…in was interesting," she laughed at first, but the nagging Matsuri kept creeping in. "How about yours?"

"Very boring…for some reason the council decided to drop all the paperwork on my desk today." He sighed, lacing his fingers with hers and letting their arms turn to joined hands. "Why was yours interesting?"

She smiled nervously. "Well, I met the most adorable little girl today. She's been staying at the hospital a lot because of her severe case of leukemia. None of the other staff members have been able to get through to her, but today, I made her smile."

"Well that's…good." He replied a bit awkwardly, only increasing her worry. It was a child they were talking about after all. It didn't take long for the two to arrive home. Already used to their routine Gaara left her to make dinner while he changed into something a bit more comfortable for his prepared night of relaxing.

She didn't really feel like cooking anything much that night, so once again, she made chicken tender salad. She smiled fondly at the memory of the last time they had eaten this for dinner. Naruto had come barging in, and she and Gaara had argued over what was polite and what wasn't. She shook her head as she chopped up the lettuce and put the chicken on to fry. Things would be so different now.

Once everything was prepared, she checked on the chicken. Satisfied that it would be okay for a few minutes, she sat down at the table and put her head in her hands. She needed to ask Gaara about children sooner or later, she was just afraid of what his answer would be. What if Matsuri had been right? What if that little pest knew Gaara better than she, his _fiancé_, did? And, how would she react if he said no?

Sighing, she walked back into the kitchen and took the chicken off the stove. She sliced it into pieces and put it on top of the salads. Once she was done with that, she set the table and got out water for each of them. Just as she was finishing this Gaara came downstairs, fully changed.

Almost surprising to her, he was actually wearing a shirt, already in his loose drawstring pants. He looked down at the food, feeling his stomach grumble with want. "Looks good," he complimented, taking his seat and digging in. Today had been long and almost endless. He looked up at Sakura as she took her seat and started eating. Something was wrong, she was eerily quiet.

He stopped his fork and finished what was already in his mouth before speaking, "What's wrong Sakura?"

Surprised at his unexpected question, she stopped poking at her salad. It was now or never. She took a fortifying breath and looked into his gaze. "Well…I was wondering…how do you feel about children?" she asked hesitantly.

There was a definite pause. "…Why?"

"I was just asking," she mumbled out, returning her gaze to her food as if it were the most interesting thing in the world.

He watched her questionably, "I don't know…I don't particularly like them." He shrugged, not really catching on that there was something hidden behind her question. "Why?" he asked again, since something was undeniably nagging in the back of his mind.

She shrugged nonchalantly, putting some salad on her fork. "No reason. I just thought it was something we should talk about before getting married. You know, so we know where we stand on the subject." Then she put the salad in her mouth, hoping that her act was convincing.

Something was still wrong. Children? Was it simply a question because they were now engaged? He had never thought about that before, but then again he also never thought he would be getting married. He studied her carefully, trying to decipher her body language. Did she want children? He couldn't tell, but if it was her opinion she was known for making her words heard.

He set his silverware down and thought deeply. He _didn't_ like children. At all. They were mean and evil. They were also very irritating, but as he continued to think about it, it could be different with Sakura. He might like them if they were his own and then they would have half of their beautiful mother. A small smile crossed his face as he tried to imagine them, but just before he could, images of Sakura's pained face flashed from his memory. Every time he had ever physically hurt her. He loved Sakura…but that hadn't stopped him from doing some of the horrible things he had done to her in the past.

He didn't know how to emotionally cater to someone's needs, or make sure they were alright. When he got angry, he became violent, or when things didn't go his way, or became unpredictable, he put an end to it at once. Children were very unpredictable…it felt as if his heart stopped. He would hurt them, just like he had hurt Sakura. A new fear washed over him, what would happen when he got angry and lashed out at those mimicking emeralds? He shut his eyes tightly. He wouldn't be able to live with himself if he destroyed something that they had made. He wouldn't…he couldn't be a father, there were just too many things wrong with him and his childhood.

Sakura glanced off to the side uncomfortably, before returning her gaze to her food. The silence was killing her. Heck, the fact that Matsuri had been right was killing her. She continued to eat her meal, desperately trying to keep from crying. She had wanted kids. A boy and a girl at least, then after that she wouldn't care what they had. She wanted a son that looked like his father. She wanted a daughter that she could play dress up with. She wanted a home full of love. But it seemed that fate had something different in mind for her.

She wouldn't tell him that she wanted kids, it would only make him feel guilty about his admission. And she wouldn't bring another life into this world if it was only done so out of guilt. She wanted him to _want_ their child, to _want_ to be a father.

It was then she decided to respect his decision. She wouldn't bring up the subject ever again. It would just be hard to hide her feelings from him, since he had gotten more perceptive to her needs lately, but she could do it. She would do it.

Taking a sip of her water, she glanced across the table at Gaara. He looked odd. "Are you ok? I didn't mean to upset you or anything, I just wanted to know." She said hastily, not wanting to argue with him over the matter. It would only make things worse.

"Stop. Talking." He ordered her. He was still trying to calm himself down from his own want and his own anger. Now that the thoughts were in his head, he wanted to create something with the love Sakura gave him. He wanted…a son. He actually wanted one. So that he could prove that he could love in another way than just Sakura. But he _couldn't_. It wasn't fair! Why was he so damaged that he was unable to have all the things that normal people wanted in life. He let out a deep breath, knowing he should stop his want. He wouldn't be able to control himself, just like now. He was straining himself from letting out all his anger.

He would hurt them. He just knew it. Finally, his tight fists relaxed and he was able to breathe normally. "I'm…sorry." He said quietly, "And you didn't make me angry. So please don't worry about it…it was something else."

She didn't fully believe him, but knew better than to pry. "Ok." She said, returning her gaze to her food. What had just happened was proof enough that it would never work. Even the thought of kids in general seemed to upset him. She would respect his wishes, and never upset him with the subject of kids ever again, because she hated seeing him in pain.

The rest of their meal was spent in silence, Sakura's caused by sadness and Gaara's by grief. After Sakura had finished her salad she simply sat their staring at the bowl. The redhead could tell there was still something going on in her mind that she wasn't telling him. He sighed, she would tell him eventually. Seeing that she was still lost in her thoughts, he got up and picked up his plate. He stopped beside her and took hers as well, snapping her back to reality. "Oh Gaara, I've got it." She attempted to take the plates from him, but he only pulled them out of her reach.

"No, it's alright. You seem tired, I'll do the dishes and you can go get ready for bed." He leaned over and kissed the top of her head, disappearing into the kitchen.

Deciding not to argue with him she made her way to their room. Passing all the other bedrooms on her way, she sighed wistfully. These would have been their children's rooms. Shaking her head, she continued down the hall. Upon reaching their room, she went in and got dressed for bed. Too exhausted to wait, she crawled beneath the covers and shut her eyes, once again holding back the tears. She would be okay, it wasn't like not having kids was the end of the world. Maybe in a few years she could find and take on an apprentice. At least then it would be kind of like the way it was with Tsunade.

She frowned. No, it wouldn't be the same. If she couldn't have Gaara's kids then she didn't want anything remotely like it. If she were to ever teach anyone the way of the med nin, it would be her children and her children only. Letting out a frustrated sigh, she rolled over and buried her face in her pillow.

It wasn't too long later that the door opened and Gaara came in. The lights were off so he assumed she was already asleep. He still couldn't shake the feeling that Sakura was depressed. He decided he would tell her tomorrow that he would take a half day and spend the afternoon with her. Just the two of them, since Ino and Temari were coming later to collect her for wedding plans. Without a word he got into bed and shut his eyes, letting sleep take him swiftly. He was worn out from all these emotions he was still inexperienced with.


	11. Confliction

**Typhoon**

_Chapter Eleven_

-Confliction-

Gaara had been lying awake for about thirty minutes now, staring at the wall. What a horrible night. Even when he _was _asleep he felt like he had been awake. The question from the day before was still buzzing around in his head. Children. Such a simple yet complex subject. Today, he would find out what Sakura was really thinking. Without letting his mind delve too far into the thought he forced himself up from bed and looked back at his slumbering love. She didn't seem disturbed by the movement. After pulling the covers up so her back wouldn't get cold, he made his way downstairs and into the kitchen. What to make? What to make? He looked around at some of the things out on the counter and then peered inside the refrigerator.

He started to pull out some ingredients, deciding on French toast, eggs, and bacon. It would be a while until Sakura woke up, and he was intent on making this morning perfect so he could squeeze some answers out of her later. He took out two pans and set them on the stove, turning the dials and warming them up before he tossed some bacon in the larger of the two and cracked a few eggs in the other. Pulling out the bread, he preheated the oven and started to butter each piece.

The whole process didn't take too long, once they were all finished he pulled out the French toast and the cinnamon toast he had made for himself. Making a plate for both himself and Sakura, he set them on the tray. After placing some silverware beside the plates, he poured a glass of orange juice and one of apple juice. Gaara picked up the tray, tossing some strawberry jam onto the carrier before he headed upstairs. His sand surged forward and opened the door, closing it after he was in as well.

He made his way back to his side of the bed and set down the tray on the bedside table. The sand near the door crept over to the balcony window and pulled the curtains back to let in the morning light. Sakura's face scrunched from the sudden brightness, and the next thing she felt were lips on her temple. She rolled to her back and stared up at her redheaded fiancé. "Good morning," he gave her a small smile, leaning down again and kissing her forehead.

"Good morning," she yawned happily.

"How did you sleep?"

She paused in her stretching, the memories of what had been said yesterday coming back to haunt her.

'_You might as well go home. Gaara-sama doesn't want, nor like children.'_

'_I don't particularly like them.'_

It took a Herculean effort not to show any emotion in that moment. She had been so tense from the meeting and everything yesterday, not to mention it was a constant effort not to break down and cry that she had fallen dead asleep. That didn't mean that it had been good though. She had a dream where she had just given birth to the most beautiful baby she had ever seen, and when she showed it to Gaara and asked what to name him, he had turned away saying, 'Your problem, not mine. You wanted it, you name it.' And then he left her. Alone and sobbing into her crying baby.

Pasting a fake smile on her face, she shrugged. "Alright I guess. You?"

"I had a pretty un-restful night, but I don't know…" he shrugged trying not to think about yesterday. He turned around and brought the tray in front of her, "Here, I made you some breakfast." He tried to give her a smile, but her dark demeanor was very apparent.

She smiled tentatively, but continued to look away from him. "Thank you, it looks delicious." Not wanting to talk about her night anymore, she changed the subject. "You'll never guess who I saw at the hospital yesterday applying for a job." She said, this time genuine humor in her voice. All she had to do was think of other things, and she would be fine.

He sat up, crossing his legs and taking a bite out of some cinnamon toast. "Who?"

"Yoko." She said, giving him a small smile. "She wasn't too pleased to find out the position she was applying for had been permanently filled."

He laughed, just imagining the whole scene. Gaara reached down and grabbed his glass of orange juice, taking a long drink. "So," he began, setting it back down and looking at her. "I was thinking, maybe today I could take a half day and we could spend the afternoon with one another?"

Something flickered in her gaze then, but before he could think about it she was smiling. That same smile that tried to tell him everything was fine when it wasn't. "I'd love too. It'd be really great to just walk around the village and relax."

"Yeah…" he said softly, he wasn't so sure he liked being so in tune to her emotions. Ignorance was bliss after all, but it didn't seem he had that luxury anymore. There was something wrong with her, something, it seemed, that was so bad she couldn't even tell him. "Well, I'll come by to get you around noon…we can spend the afternoon together, since you're going out with Temari and Ino tonight."

She nodded, and they both ate the rest of their breakfast in silence, a very uncomfortable silence. Why was she being like this? Was she trying to make him feel bad for something he had done? He tried to think of anything stupid he had attempted or accidently said in the past week. Nothing came to mind. "Well I'm going to get ready." He said finally, after finishing his breakfast.

The redhead got up and disappeared into the bathroom. This odd mood of hers was depressing him. He felt like he had done something seriously wrong, but what?

She watched as he entered the bathroom and shut the door. Having showered the night before, she got dressed and went downstairs to take care of the dishes. It was then she allowed herself a choked sob and nothing more. Feeling the tears coming on stronger than ever, she brought her hands up to her face and used medical chakra to block her tear ducts. She knew it wasn't healthy, but until she could get a good cry out of this without Gaara finding out, they would remain that way.

It wasn't long before Gaara came downstairs to meet her. Without a word they headed out the door, walking down the streets in silence once more. He felt like she didn't want to be around him, and that seriously worried him. They stopped in front of the hospital and without thinking much of it, Sakura began to walk in. She was stopped when Gaara grabbed her wrist, causing her to glance back, a bit surprised.

"I love you Sakura." His grip tightened a bit, as he searched her eyes, his own looking more than a little worried.

Suddenly guilt came over her. Gaara had just been honest with her about his view on children, there was no need to shut him out the way she had. She came back to him and brought a hand to his face, stroking his cheek in an effort to comfort him. With a tender smile, she said, "I love you too Gaara. Always." It was a good thing she had blocked her tear ducts, otherwise she would have been a complete mess at that point.

He placed his hand over hers, keeping it there for a while. She was such a terrible liar when it came to her emotions. He was almost offended that she thought she could pretend nothing was wrong, but he didn't want to push her. She would tell him when she wanted to, and hopefully that would be soon. "Well, I'll see you later then." He finally pulled away from her, heading towards the Kazekage Tower.

She had wanted to kiss him, but knew that if she did all of her desperation and sadness would have been poured into the kiss, and he would have asked her what was wrong. So she turned towards the hospital, deciding to pay Akane a visit. Maybe the little girl would help her feel better.

* * *

Gaara walked into the tower, intent on finishing all the paperwork that needed to be done today. "Oh Kazekage-sama!" the girl at the front desk stood, rushing over to him and intercepting his path. He stopped and tried not to seem too irritated.

"Yes?"

She smiled and held up a small calendar. "I knew you would forget so I had to remind you before you went up and started on your paperwork. I have all today's papers ready and prepared for you, so all you have to do is sign it."

He stared at her oddly, still not catching the point. "Ok…? Why?"

"Because! Kazekage-sama, today is that time of the year where you visit the ninja academy!" she said happily, bubbling with excitement. He remembered when Sakura had been like that. He sighed and reluctantly nodded.

"Alright. Where are the papers I need to sign?" he asked, holding his hand out for a pen. The girl hurried over to her desk and brought all the papers, along with an ink pen. He signed them quickly, knowing his receptionist never put anything he had to read in the stack when he was in a rush.

"Here," he handed them back to her and headed for the door.

She placed the papers down and waved after him, "Have a good day Kazekage-sama! And remember play nice with the other kids!"

He rolled his eyes, though he would never admit he actually liked her crazy antics. The walk to the academy only brought back the thoughts of Sakura and their conversation. Children. He remembered children, and how cruel they could be. But they weren't _all_ bad…most of the time. He sighed. He didn't know what to make of this or Sakura's behavior.

The Kazekage looked up, seeing he was already at the front gates to the ninja school. He walked in and looked around, being greeted almost instantaneously with a few of the instructors. "Good morning Kazekage-sama." They said happily.

"The children have been waiting for you. They are so excited to know you're visiting." One of the female teachers smiled.

"They are?" Gaara looked a bit taken back.

"Of course they are." A dark haired man nodded, gesturing for them all to head towards the classrooms. "Who wouldn't be excited to meet the all-powerful Kazekage?"

Gaara followed the teachers slowly, looking around the halls he vaguely remembered. He hadn't been in the academy that long when he was a child. He could feel his muscles tensing, expecting their reactions. They entered one of the larger rooms and all the kids gasped, joining together in welcoming their leader to their class.

* * *

It was just a little past noon when Gaara walked out of the academy, a smile actually on his face. That hadn't been anything like he expected it to be. The kids all wanted him to tell them what it was like being the Kazekage, besides all the boring paperwork. They asked a lot about Sakura, which depressed him a bit, but he did enjoy talking about her. They had even asked him to play with them in the yard during their break from class. He had been hesitant at first, but it seemed safe enough.

The school was closer to the hospital than his office was, so he was able to make up some lost time there. He walked in and looked around the lobby, expecting Sakura to be there waiting for him.

Instead, she was upstairs. For the past hour and a half she had been with Akane. She brought the girl some breakfast, checked her charts and vitals, and gave her some medicine. At the moment, she was running her fingers through Akane's orange locks and humming softly. Apparently Akane hadn't been sleeping well, so Sakura had offered a different method. It appeared to have worked.

She glanced over at the clock and went wide-eyed. It was five past twelve. Halting in her movements, she quietly left the room. Once the doors were closed, she took off her lab coat and made a dash for the lobby. She hoped Gaara wasn't angry with her or anything, but she needed that time with the little girl. It had made her feel so much better.

Reaching the lobby, she saw her redheaded lover waiting for her. Without a word, she ran into his arms and gave him a fierce hug. Looking into his startled eyes, she gave him her first genuine smile since the day before. "Hey there stranger. Sorry to keep you waiting, I was with a patient."

He blinked, letting his arms wrap around slowly. She definitely seemed in a better mood than she had been earlier. "It's alright. I wasn't waiting long," he finally smiled, pulling away from her then. "Are you ready to go?"

"Yes." She said, still smiling. Then she reached down and grabbed his hand as they left the hospital.

They started down the street, and Sakura noticed that he seemed to be leading her down a familiar path. Then she saw the ice cream cart, "I thought we could get some ice cream since it's kind of hot today." He smiled softly, glad she was at least back to being somewhat normal.

"Oh Gaara! I was just craving some the other day! I wonder if they have chocolate this time!" she giggled, running up to the vendor and asking. He followed her slowly, seeing her excitement when the man gave her a chocolate scoop.

"Here you go Kazekage-sama." The man smiled, handing him a vanilla one.

"Thank you." He paid the man and the two started walking once more. "So Sakura, how was your morning? What did you do?"

"I spent my morning with Akane-chan. You know, the little girl I told you about? She's just a doll." She said fondly.

"Oh? Well that's good. I had to go to the academy today and teach the kids there. It surprisingly…wasn't as bad as I thought." He took a bite out of his salty ice cream, staring ahead thinking about all the kids who had seemed so different than the ones from his childhood.

Hope lit her eyes then. Maybe he would come to like kids, if his visits at the Academy went well all the time. She licked her ice cream, deep in thought. "That's nice. I didn't know you went to teach the kids. Tsunade-shishou has never done that, although, with the way she acts around Naruto, it's understandable why they don't want her around small children." She said with a smile. He laughed, trying to imagine what would happen if Tsunade taught children.

"_Where's the sake!? I can't teach these…THINGS without the proper loss of mind!"_

"_Tsunade-sama! They're children! Please!"_

He laughed again. It would be funny to watch her attempt. Sakura stared at him, wondering what he was thinking about. "Now that would be hilarious." He nodded, finishing the last of his ice cream and biting into the cone.

"See, I didn't want to at first…but the council thought it would be a good idea to be more active in the younger generation…you know…considering my past." He stopped, his mood darkening as if he were walking down a dark memory alley.

Not wanting their light mood to disappear, she squeezed his hand in silent support. "Well, you can bet when Naruto becomes Hokage he'll be all over visiting the Academy. I mean, he acts like a child himself, he'd fit right in." she said with a fond smile, glancing at him from the corner of her eye. She only hoped her distraction worked.

A microscopic smile formed on his face. "I'm sure that Naruto will be an amazing Hokage." He looked back over at her, doing his best to try and regain his light mood.

She laid her head on his shoulder and sighed. "Yeah, he will be." Finishing her ice cream, she looked up at him, head remaining on its temporary pillow. "It was a good idea to take a half day, I really needed this. After so many days with other people, it's nice for it to be just you and me for once."

"Yeah…especially since I won't see you until late tonight…Kiba is taking me to get our tuxes fit." He sighed, letting his arm drape around her waist.

Her head popped off his shoulder as she suddenly remembered her plans for the evening as well. "Oh yeah, I'm supposed to go out with Temari and Ino to plan wedding stuff." Her face lit with excitement over the thought. She had been planning her wedding since she was five. Everything would be perfect.

It was around that time the couple had wandered towards a semi-large park. Sakura's eyes lit up at the sight of the children playing. "I didn't know this park was here!" she exclaimed, looking around. "Wow, it's so much different than the one in Konoha." She observed innocently. Little did she know the history Gaara had with this particular place. If she had, she might not have been so happy to see it, and would have noticed the tension in his shoulders.

He hadn't realized that they were heading towards this area. He stared, horrified, at the swing set now occupied by two small girls. Gaara had made an effort to stay away from this part of the village his entire life. He took a step back, ready to flee from all the plaguing memories that were now flashing through his mind. Sakura, finally turning to him, noticed his dismayed expression. But before she could say anything, a large red ball bounced towards them and rolled to Gaara's feet. He backed away from it quickly, as if it were a bomb about to go off.

"Gaara? Are you ok?" she reached her hand out towards him, but he flinched away. All he could see where those torturous kids…when he tried to be kind…shut him down. He felt his sand picking up in defense from what he knew was coming.

"Kazekage-sama!" excited yells snapped him from his past and he stared down at the smiling faces of some of the children from the academy. "Hi Kazekage-sama!" they said again, since he didn't respond.

"Oh…hello." He finally managed out, his defensive position obvious only to Sakura. Slowly he leaned down and picked up the ball, his vision flashing back and forth from the past to the present. Hesitantly he took a step forward to the children and lowered the toy to their hands. A boy stepped forward, his dark hair cut short so his brown eyes sparkled in the sunlight.

"Thanks so much Kazekage-sama!" he said happily, truly grateful.

"Kazekage-sama! Will you play with us like you did earlier today?" one of the blonde girls asked, jumping up and down.

Another one of the girls looked over to Sakura and blushed darkly, "I know you're with Sakura-sama, but she can play too if she wants." She said softly, running up and taking Gaara's stiff hand.

Sakura watched in shock as Gaara was dragged off by the little girl. Maybe this would be good for him. Not wanting to be left out, she jogged after them, stopping on the other side of the field, to make things even. "No cheating this time Gaara! You need to set the example for the kids!" she yelled jokingly.

He looked confused and lost, just like a small child. "Come on Gaara-sama! Don't you know how to play?"

"Um…no," he admitted softly. The girl blinked and laughed, holding the ball up to try and show him how to play.

"Alright Gaara-sama, it's like soccer, but with your hands. Try and get it in the goal over there," she pointed towards the side Sakura was standing on and then placed the ball in the muddled redhead's hands. "I'm sure you can do it!" she ran off then and Gaara stood completely still. This was so odd. He lifted his hand up and then tossed the ball in the air. He gave it a hit and it bounced towards the other side. The children broke out in laughter, chasing down the center of the game. A blonde girl smacked the ball towards Sakura with her hand, the speed surprisingly fast.

Sakura, being the trained shinobi she was, immediately hit the ball back towards the other side, her natural strength sending the ball fast and hard. She laughed. This game was fun.

The boy in the goal jumped up, barely catching the ball aimed straight for the net of the goal. "Come on Kazekage-sama! Are you going to let your woman beat you like that?" the brunette laughed, trying to make sure he didn't anger his leader's to-be wife. Gaara blinked and turned his gaze from the child to Sakura and let a smirk crawl up his face.

"Of course not." The team he was on broke out in cheers. The boy in the goal tossed the ball towards him. His hand moved quickly and smacked the ball straight for Sakura's goal.

"Go Sakura-sama!" the girls yelled, laughing excitedly as they ran around. "Girls rule and boys drool!"

Sakura ran across the field, flipped, and hit the ball with her hand in mid-air, sending it back towards the other team's goal. "Wow! Sakura-sama that was amazing!" one of the girls exclaimed as Sakura landed perfectly, smirking back at her fiancé.

This time the ball did hit the goal, since she had accidentally hit it too hard, and the boy had dived out of the way, afraid of getting hit. Jumping back up, he pointed a finger at her. "That's not fair Sakura-sama! You're too strong to play, we are at a disadvantage!" he accused.

The small girl that seemed so fond of her placed her hands on her hips and stuck her tongue out at the boy. "Nuh uh! You have Kazekage-sama! It's totally fair!"

Not wanting a fight to break out, Sakura held her hands up, signaling for them to stop their bickering. "It's fine. I've played this game tons of times before, so I'll just go and watch. You kids teach Gaara how to play alright?"

They nodded, seeing her reasoning. Smiling to Gaara, who looked as if he didn't want to be left alone with the kids, she walked over to where a group of mothers were sitting. She joined them, and turned back to watch the rest of the game.

"Now it's no fair because you have Kazekage-sama!" the girl yelled, crossing her arms angrily.

Gaara looked at the fight that was about to break out. "Well…why don't we just play a different game?" he suggested shyly, almost mimicking Hinata's actions.

"That's a great idea Gaara-sama!" the girls shouted, crowding around him and leading him off a bit to show him how to play another game. The boys chased after them yelling things like "Gaara-sama doesn't want to play house, he's a man!"

Sakura laughed, watching the poor redhead attempt to play the games they were trying to show him. A tall brunette walked over, holding a small child tenderly. She sat next to Sakura and gave her a bright smile. "Well you must be the lovely Haruno Sakura, I'm Rin."

"Yes, I am. What gave me away? My hair?" she asked humorously. She held out a hand, a polite smile on her face. "It's nice to meet you. Do you have any more kids besides the little one?" she asked, politely curious.

"Oh yes, a boy and a girl. They are both out there playing with Kazekage-sama." She pointed over towards two children who looked very much alike. "They are so full of life…I'm glad they have such a great Kazekage to look up to. I know when I was little Suna was suffering terrible…Gaara-sama's father…wasn't exactly the best thing for the village." She said sadly, looking away then.

"It's very nice…to see the Kazekage smile though…I remember when I was little…he wasn't exactly a happy young man." She tried to seem light, but Sakura could tell this woman felt guilty about having hated the redhead.

So, she decided to lighten the mood. "Well, he seems happier now. At least, I hope he is." She said with a small smile. Still watching them play, she yelled, "No Gaara! That's base! You can't tag them when they touch the base!" she told him, laughing at the whole situation.

"He will make a great father someday, don't you think?" Rin asked politely.

Suddenly her smile faded. He would make an excellent father, he just didn't realize it. And he never would, since he didn't want children. "Yes, yes he would." She answered softly. And there went her improved mood, right out the window. But Rin didn't need to know that, she was too nice.

After about an hour of playing with the children, Gaara reluctantly left the group. They all whined, but he gave them a smile and waved, telling them sometime soon he would play with them again. He slowed and stopped in front of Sakura and Rin, letting his eyes shift between the two. His smile fell when his gaze locked onto his fiancé, "Is something wrong?" he asked, worry now all over his face. He could sense the medic's mood, and it was back to how it was earlier in the morning.

Startled out of her thoughts, she looked up at him. "Hm? Oh, no it's nothing. I was just thinking about something that's all." She said, getting up. Giving him that same, unconvincing smile, she asked, "Ready to go? I need to meet Temari soon."

It was obvious he didn't believe her, but he left it alone for the time being. He waved to the woman who was talking to Sakura and they left, heading for home. Once they were somewhat alone on the streets, he decided to try and pry. "Why do you keep lying to me Sakura?"

Startled emerald met inquisitive jade. "What do you mean? I really am fine."

His gaze turned into an angry glare. "Do you really think I'm that stupid? I can tell something is wrong, I don't know how. I just can. Now what is wrong? You've been depressed ever since yesterday."

Her gaze turned to the ground, ashamed. "I'll be fine really. It's just something I have to deal with on my own okay? Just trust me on this." She said, watching her feet as she walked.

That was certainly not an answer he was satisfied with. He stopped and grabbed her hand, making her halt as well. "Sakura, please…don't shut me out. I want to know what's wrong with you. We need to talk to one another…we're getting married, shouldn't we start trying to act like it?"

She opened her mouth to speak, but a loud yell silenced her. "Gaara!" Kiba ran down the streets, an excited Akamaru bounding behind them. The redhead looked over and sighed. He released Sakura and watched the brunette slide to a stop next to them. "What's up guys!"

"Kiba now is really not th-GAH!" Gaara yelled as Akamaru tackled him to the ground, licking his face affectionately.

"Akamaru! Heel! Gaara is not used to animals!" Sakura said sternly but affectionately to the dog, glad for the interruption. She didn't want Gaara to take pity on her and agree to have a child just to make her happy. Or worse, get angry at her for being selfish and call off the wedding. She knew he was right, but that didn't mean she was ready to talk. She needed to think about it first. Maybe she could talk to Temari while they were out wedding shopping.

"Come on Akamaru, off Gaara." Kiba pat his leg and the dog was immediately by his side. Now angry, Gaara stood, dusting off his clothes and glaring at his most hated friend. "Let's go Gaara, we have to go get fit for our tuxes." he grinned, waving Sakura goodbye. "See ya later Sabaku no Sakura." And with that Kiba grabbed Gaara and pulled him off into the crowd.

She smiled slightly at the name, and then went off to meet Temari and Ino. Hopefully she would get home before Gaara and she could pretend to be asleep. Or better yet, already be asleep, that way he wouldn't be able to ask her what was wrong again.

* * *

"Ok Forehead, you and Temari wait here while I go check out the merchandise." Ino said as she walked farther into the flower shop.

They had walked around town all afternoon, picking out wedding necessities. So far Sakura had already chosen the plates, and silverware she wanted, along with the types and colors of napkins and tablecloths. Now they were shopping for flowers to use to decorate the rooms with.

Well it was now or never to talk to Temari. Turning to the blonde, she said "Temari, can I ask you something? About Gaara?"

Startled at the question, Temari focused her attention on her soon to be sister-in-law. "Of course. But, wouldn't it be better to ask Gaara himself?"

She shook her head negatively. "No, it would only upset him."

Curiosity piqued, Temari raised a brow at her. "What is it?"

"Well, earlier today we were walking around the village, and we came by this park. For some reason Gaara tensed suddenly, and I could feel his sand stir. Then, a red ball rolled towards us from the kids playing. He looked like he was about to freak out. Why is that?"

Sighing, Temari placed her hand on Sakura's shoulder. "What you have to understand is, Gaara didn't really have a childhood. Until Naruto, Gaara didn't even have any friends. So playing wasn't really something my little brother learned how to do."

Sakura nodded, remembering how Gaara didn't know how to play any of the games she had learned growing up.

"When he was little, he used to go to that park all the time and sit on the swing set there. It was where he went to be alone. He would try to play with the other kids, but they would just run away from him and call him a monster. His emotions had more control over his sand than he did at the time, so it just made him seem like more of a monster."

At this Sakura's eyes began to water, just imagining the horrors Gaara had gone through as a child.

"Our Uncle Yashamaru was really the only one who could calm him down. But, in the end, Yashamaru betrayed Gaara and tried to kill him. That's why Gaara is so mistrusting of others, and that's why he is cautious around kids." Temari finished.

"Oh. Thanks, Temari. That really helped a lot." She said with a sad smile.

The blonde merely shrugged as if it wasn't a big deal. "No problem. I can understand why you didn't want to ask Gaara. There's no telling how he would have reacted, even if it was you who wanted to know."

It all made sense now. Why he didn't like kids. Why he was nervous around the park. And why he looked like a child, learning how to play with them earlier. Before she could contemplate it further, Ino came back. "What's with the long faces you two? Anyways, I found the perfect flowers for your wedding. We can just use the same ones Gaara had put in that arrangement that he made for you! Isn't that great?!" her best friend asked excitedly.

Smiling at her antics, Sakura said, "That's wonderful Ino. It even goes with the color scheme. But, I want plain white roses in my bridal bouquet."

"That's fine Forehead. Now, I've already placed the order, so let's go over and plan out the menu." Ino said, already headed out of the store.

Temari turned to her with a raised brow. "Isn't this supposed to be your wedding?" she asked.

"Yeah, but Ino and I planned our weddings together when we were little. She knows what I want without me having to tell her. And when she gets married, I will be planning hers."

Temari shrugged. "Makes sense. I just didn't really have any girl friends when I was little. Everyone was afraid of me."

This made Sakura laugh. "I don't know why. You're _so_ pleasant to everyone you meet." She joked.

Apparently Temari didn't get it. "I know! Maybe they're all just wimps."

They left the flower shop then, and continued down the street. The rest of their day was full of picking out foods and desserts, and then Sakura's dress. Because, even if he didn't like sweets, Sakura wanted them to pick out the cake together.

* * *

The tiny bell rang as Kiba pushed open the door a nice shop, it was just after sunset now. "Hello! Kazekage plus guest!" the brunette yelled happily, a brooding redhead following.

A larger man walked out, giving an exasperated laugh. "Well now, I am honored Kazekage-sama that you would pick my shop for your special day. Please, please come in." he gestured them towards the back and then disappeared behind a curtained store room.

Gaara looked around the shop, trying to see a tux that really stood out from the others. "So what's with the down mood?" Kiba looked over to his 'friend'. "Your aura is even more depressing than usual, and that's saying something."

"It's nothing…just problems." Gaara said, trying to avoid the subject.

"Problems with?" Kiba arched a brow, then turned to some of the vests and compared the fabrics.

Throwing his hesitations aside, the redhead stared at the dog master's back. "Well it's just…what do you think of kids?"

Kiba scoffed, "God I hate kids. They're like demons. Sick…little…demons." He shivered, trying to rid himself of the memory. "I hate them! They torture the crap out of you and you can't do anything back! It's like their most powerful handicap!" he turned towards Gaara, throwing his hands in the air. "Do you know what we have in Konoha?! Ninja Scouts…aka daughters of the devil! You know what their motto is? You buy or you die!"

"I'm assuming you had a traumatic experience with these Ninja Scouts…" Gaara said a bit warily, when Kiba started going there was really no stopping him.

"Yeah! I just didn't want to buy any freaking cookies! And then they beat me up!"

Gaara had to hold in a laugh, "They beat you up?"

"Hey!" Kiba pointed a threatening finger at the redhead. "Don't you underestimate little kids man, they are like…ugh." He shivered, shaking his head.

"But…what if you had a…you know…with Ino?" the Kazekage asked, avoiding the brunette's gaze now.

Kiba blinked and smiled, "Well that's completely different."

This seemed to catch Gaara off guard, "What do you mean? How's it different? It's still a child."

It was then that the tailor came back out with two jackets, "Here you go gentleman, if you'll just slip these on I can take your measurements."

Both men took a jacket and slid their arms into the sleeves. The owner started with Gaara, for obvious reasons, but Kiba continued with their conversation. "Well Gaara, if I had a kid with Ino it's like…taking a part of each of us and making something…that's both of us. And I assume that I would love my own child, because I love Ino and its part of her. Though I'm not planning on that for a long time." He laughed. "Why?"

Gaara shrugged, making the fat man growl in protest, since it hindered his work. "I was just asking. Sakura asked me about children the other day, but I told her I didn't like them, and she's been depressed ever since."

"WHAT?!" Kiba nearly exploded. "You _told_ a _woman_, no scratch that, your _fiancé_, that you didn't like children?!"

Wide eyed now, Gaara nodded slowly. "Why was that bad?"

"_Bad_?! BAD?! Gaara, the only thing worse you can tell a woman is that she's fat and ugly!" the brunette smacked his forehead and ran his hand down his face. "This is…God, you really are just plain stupid aren't you?"

"I am _not_ stupid." The redhead glared.

"Gaara! When you don't know what to say. Don't say anything at all! It's the golden rule! Or change the subject…'Baby, you are looking so fine today!' Something like that!"

Finally finished with the Kazekage's measurements, the man moved to Kiba and started on his. "First of all Kiba, because I don't _say_ things like that! And I didn't know that, Sakura is the only relationship I've ever had."

"Well whose fault is that?" Kiba huffed and looked off, causing Gaara's eye to twitch.

"Whatever. It doesn't matter anyway." The redhead looked off as well, crossing his arms. It didn't take long for the man to finish with Kiba's, since they had stopped talking and moving.

"Alright finished." He sighed, taking the pins and the paper he wrote their numbers down on. "Just come and pick them up the day before the wedding."

They both nodded and took off the jackets, handing them back to the man and starting for the door. "Oh yeah! Gaara I totally forgot, thanks so much for approving Ino and mine's transfer papers." Kiba laughed, giving the redhead a playful punch.

Gaara froze, stopping in place and looking at the brunette as if he had just grown a tail. "What?"

"Well since I liked Suna so much and Ino doesn't want to leave Sakura, we asked Tsunade if we could move here. So she sent the papers and said all we needed was your signature. I got a message today that said you signed them and gave the ok."

By now Gaara's eye was twitching violently. His thoughts went back to this morning and the pile of papers he had signed without reading them, because he _assumed_ they were all mission reports. He turned slowly to the smiling man. It took every ounce of his self-control to stop from attacking him. Kiba was moving here? It wasn't possible! His luck couldn't be _that_ bad. Without another word Gaara's sand rose and took him away to his office to make sure nothing of the sort had happened.

He arrived in the center of the dark room and flipped on the light, seeing the papers from this morning on his desk, all officially signed and stamped with the seal. He hurriedly fingered through the parchment until he found the two he was looking for. Horrified, he pulled the signed and sealed transfer requests. The next thing Gaara knew was that he was screaming at the top of his lungs. This couldn't be happening! Kiba was going to live here _forever_! Until he died! The thought made him stop, his mind contemplating. "No!" he yelled out loud. No matter how much the brunette irritated him he just couldn't kill him.

In another angry swirl his sand picked up and he was home in the living room. All the lights were out, which probably meant Sakura was asleep. It was pretty late, and her day had probably worn her out. He stomped upstairs as quietly as possible, infuriated with himself. There was no stopping it now.

He threw their bedroom door open, unintentionally making it bang against the wall. This caused Sakura to sit upright in bed, kunai drawn. When she saw that it was just Gaara she relaxed. Seeing his expression, she raised a brow, "Gaara…..are you ok?"

"I can't believe it!" he yelled at himself, not seeming to have caught she was talking to him.

"Can't believe what?" she asked tentatively.

"It's all my fault," he groaned, "I can't believe I over looked something so trivial! WHY! Why does the world hate me?! Have I not suffered enough?!" he demanded, looking up and then taking off his shoes, throwing them against the wall.

"GAARA! What's going on?!" she yelled, slightly annoyed that she was being ignored.

He looked at her, as if finally realizing she was in the room. "Something terrible has happened…"

"What?" she asked, afraid of the answer.

"Today…my secretary handed me some papers…before I actually looked at them…" he stopped, running his hand down his face with a loud groan. "I assumed she would only put mission summaries in there…but there were two transfer papers…and I signed them…" he paused again, trying to quail his anger and not kill anyone. "And now…Ino and Kiba are moving to Suna. And I ok'd it!" he yelled once more, kicking the wall with his bare foot and then shouting out in pain. "DAMNIT!"

She got out of bed and went over to look at his foot. Kneeling next to him, she began to heal it. "Ino and Kiba are moving here?! That's great! I'll get to see Ino all the time! But….does Kiba have to stay?" she asked, displeasure all over her face. "Can't we like…ban him from the village or something?"

He let her heal his foot. Still standing, he crossed his arms and glared at the wall. "That blonde one is annoying and no…we can't ban him, I just signed a stupid paper that said he could come live here. He'd have to do something terrible to the village or die. I've already considered killing him myself…but that would be un-Kage-like." He sighed furiously.

"I could kill him. I've gotten close before, it wouldn't be a problem. I can even make it look like an accident…you know…like a disease or something." She said plotting.

"No, no Sakura…I'd have to banish you then." He glanced down at her as she got up and stared up at him. "So…how did shopping go?"

She shrugged, walking back towards the bed. "As good as shopping goes I guess. We got all the table settings picked out, the menu, location, floral arrangements, and my dress. All that's left is to pick out the cake, and I wanted you to be there for that." She told him.

He tried to hide his unwillingness. "Do I have to Sakura? I mean, you can just pick whichever one you want. I'm sure I'll like it."

She stuck out her lower lip in a pout. "Please Gaara? Everything else has been done separately. And since we have to feed each other the cake, I want to make sure it's one you like. Plus we have to pick the icing design and figurines that go on the top." She explained.

More stuff he didn't care about. "Fine, fine. I'll go with you. But I really don't care. It's not that big of a deal to me."

Her lip trembled, it was time to make him want to pick out a cake. Tears formed in her eyes, but she looked away, "I guess the most important day of my life is just going to be like any other Saturday for you, since you don't care." She sniffed, trying so hard to keep the smirk off her face.

Gaara went wide eyed and shook his head, grabbing her shoulders and forcing her to face him. "No! No! No! Let's go pick out the cake, I do want to." He said quickly.

"Oh Gaara!" she exasperated and wrapped her arms around him, finally being able to grin. So predictable. She released him and gave him a smile. "Well alright, what do you say we go to bed? I'm exhausted."

He nodded, feeling very tired himself. She returned to bed as he began to undress, sliding in beside her and turning off the light. "Goodnight," he mumbled, before turning on his side and shutting his eyes.

"Night." She replied, glad he had forgotten about their almost fight earlier. Hopefully, it would stay that way.


	12. Ninja War III

**Typhoon**

_Chapter Twelve_

-Ninja War III-

"You want to what now?" Gaara asked, trying his best to house his rising anger.

"Well we have a very important search and rescue mission that needs to be executed immediately, and seeing as Sakura-sama excels in medical jutsu, and we don't know the condition of the team, we want her to join the rescue team and bring them back." An elder grumbled out.

One of the older women leaned forward and nodded, "Since Sakura-sama is about to become a Suna shinobi, she might as well start helping. I'm sure she's tired of wedding planning. She needs some excitement."

The other women in the council nodded, agreeing. Hana looked over at her Kazekage and sighed, "Kazekage-sama, I'm sure Sakura-sama will be fine. After all you chose her as your betrothed. You don't doubt her abilities, do you?" the blonde arched a brow, seeing the redhead's tense reaction.

"It's not that…it's just…" he stopped and let out an irritated sigh. "Fine. Send her in."

As if on cue, the doors opened and Sakura was shown in. "Good morning Sakura-sama." Most of the council greeted kindly.

"Good morning everyone." She answered politely, but somewhat stiffly. She remembered what had been discussed the last time she had been called in here, and hoped it was nothing of a similar sort.

Hana stood, giving the woman a bow of respect. "Sakura-sama, the council has decided to present you with a mission, if you would like to take it that is. A team of ours was injured and are being kept prisoner. We are sending a search and rescue team, and were graciously hoping that you would accompany them, seeing as your medical prowess is beyond words."

A lot of the women and most the young men nodded, excited looks on their face to see their new political figure in action and how she would handle a mission. "The mission is yours to command of course, my lady." One of the men with a darker complexion said.

But when Sakura looked at Gaara, he was staring off, not willing to make eye contact with her. He was obviously not happy with it.

"Gaara, what do you think about this?" she asked, wanting to be sure it was okay with him. She remembered how he had behaved the last time she went on a mission, and this one would be no less dangerous.

"Obviously I agreed." He spat out, glaring at the wall. "Or else you wouldn't even be in here hearing the logistics of the situation."

She crossed her arms angrily. "Fine then, sorry I asked for your opinion." Turning back to Hana, she said, "I'd be _glad_ to go Hana-san. It'll be good to get out of the village for a while."

His gaze flashed over and met hers. She didn't mean that…did she? He crossed his arms tightly over his chest and focused down then, not wanting to give Sakura the reaction she wanted. "Oh, well," Hana smiled slowly, yet cautiously. "That's great then, the team is leaving at noon." She informed her, looking now at Gaara. He stood, and as he did the rest of the council mimicked.

Without another word he headed for the door. Hana looked from Sakura and back to Gaara. "Gaara-sama where are you going?" she wondered, she had assumed he would spend the morning with Sakura before she had to leave.

"I have some paperwork to do." He said shortly, slamming the door behind him. The rest of the council was now leaving, some talking to one another about political things that needed handling.

Matsuri sauntered over to Sakura, an ugly smirk plastered all over her face. "I would _never_ even dream of treating Gaara-kun like that." She laughed and walked away from the pink haired woman.

"Well, that's why he chose me instead of you, isn't it Matsuri?" she asked, causing the girl to stop in her tracks. "Gaara needs a woman who will stand up to him and argue with him. Not some simpering _child_ who will just go along with him and do whatever he says." She walked past the brunette and left the room then, shutting the door in the girl's face.

She went home and put together a bag of supplies, wanting to be better prepared this time around. As she was about to leave she stopped. She didn't want to just leave things the way they were. So she went downstairs and pulled out a pad and a pen, writing Gaara a note of farewell. Once that was done, she left to meet her team at the gates.

When she got to the gates the whole team was there. After a quick introduction they left, wanting to return home as soon as possible.

* * *

Two days later, the whole team made their way back to Suna, along with the team that was being held hostage. It was a very successful mission to say the least.

"Wow Sakura-sama! You were amazing!" one of the men whom she rescued exclaimed. They had been singing her praises the entire way back. And no matter how flattering, it was really starting to get on her nerves.

"Thanks, but I really didn't do much really." She said, trying to sound modest.

"Oh please. The way you demolished that building? Awesome! And then when Shauna got injured? You just swooped in and healed her right up in two seconds flat." Another chuunin chimed in.

"I'm just glad we all made it out okay. I can't wait to get home." She admitted, wondering if Gaara had gotten her note. She hoped so, because when she got back, all she wanted to do was curl up beside him in their bed and sleep.

"Me too." The girl named Shauna said. "Hey! I can see Suna on the horizon!" she exclaimed, pointing off in the distance.

"No, that's not Suna. It's just a big dome." The first chuunin said, squinting.

Sakura's brow furrowed in confusion. "I know I'm new to Suna and all, but that's exactly where the village is located.

"Sakura-sama is right. That _is_ Suna." One of the quieter ones said.

They all broke into a run then, their carefree mood from earlier quickly forgotten. When they got closer to the village, they could see that the entire place was covered in a solid sand dome. Covering the dome and the surrounding area were Suna shinobi, who were busy fighting ninjas from Iwagakure, the Village Hidden among the Rocks.

Without instruction, they broke apart and joined the fray. Sakura ran through the crowd, dodging attacks and ninja, trying to find a familiar face in all the chaos. She saw a flash of pale blonde hair and ran towards it.

"Hana-san?! What's going on?" she asked, joining her favorite council member in her fight. Hana swung her leg up and brought it down on top of a man who had attempted to strike her.

Panting slightly, Hana glanced at Sakura. "Hokage-sama sent us a letter a bit after you arrived, warning us of an attack. They said that they had received a threatening message from Iwagakure. Apparently some countries aren't too happy of your upcoming union with Kazekage-sama. They don't want such a strong alliance with unbreakable ties between two of the biggest ninja nations." She said with a humorless smile.

"I don't understand! If that's so, then where is Gaara?" the pink haired medic asked, worried about her fiancé.

Hana looked at her like she was stupid. "He's the one holding the sand barrier. The enemy surrounded the village, and the only way to keep them all out was for Gaara-sama to put this up. Shikamaru is with him holding tactical meetings every once in a while, and your friend Ino is helping with the nurses in healing minor wounds." She informed her.

This caused Sakura's eyes to widen. Gaara was holding the whole thing up? "How long has this been going on?" she asked, bashing in someone's skull with a powerful kick.

"We're going on about forty-eight hours at this point."

Damn. This meant that Gaara would be nearing chakra exhaustion, if he wasn't already. Resolve steeling, she began to fight vigorously with her new friend. She would kill as many people as it took in order for her to get to Gaara. No matter what the cost to herself.

Sakura stopped when she heard another familiar blonde's voice. "Kirikiri Mai!" Temari screamed, running her thumb down her large fan, a trail of blood following. She swung her fan with a loud yell following, a giant tornado formed faster than the eye could comprehend.

The whirlwind surged forward, taking out a handful of the enemy shinobi. But it didn't take long for the attackers to regroup and surround the wind ninja.

"Temari!" Sakura shouted, about to make a dash for her friend. There was a flash of white, a giant canine bounding towards the woman.

"Temari!" Kiba called, leaning over and holding out his hand, "Grab on!"

Sliding her fan in place, she jumped back and stretched her hand out. Kiba latched onto her wrist as he and Akamaru flew by, pulling the blonde up onto the dog's back and got away safely. She wrapped her arms tightly around Kiba's stomach so she wouldn't fall from the bumpy ride.

"How can you stand this?!" she demanded.

"I dunno," he laughed, zigzagging between the fights, the dog ripping odd limbs from the bad guys, as Kiba called it. "I suppose I got used to it!"

He gave Akamaru an order and the dog slid to a stop, letting Temari down. Kiba followed quickly. "Come on boy, time to defend our new home! Jinju Konbi Henge: Sotoro!" the eldest of the sand siblings backed up quickly as the two combined, a giant white two headed wolf appearing from the smoke. The two roared, taking off up the cliff to focus on the most concentrated amount of the earth ninja.

Seeing that her friend was safe, Sakura focused her attention on a new group of ninjas. She cracked her knuckles, ready for anything they could throw at her.

* * *

Dark eyes watched the Kazekage, who had been holding the same stance for two days now. He looked more pale than usual, but that was to be expected. Shikamaru glanced up at the dome covering the village. It looked undamaged, not a crack anywhere. He had to give it to the stubborn redhead. He was impressively strong...and very determined.

"Shikamaru…" Gaara breathed out, opening one of his eyes with much strain. His two hands were still connected, forming a triangle much like the genius' pose while he was thinking.

He stepped forward, so Gaara wouldn't have to waste energy on speaking too loudly. "What is it Gaara?"

"Please…check on the villagers. Make sure they are alright…I don't want them to be scared." He finally managed out, closing his eyes once more and becoming lost in his concentration. Shikamaru looked pained, he had just checked on them fifteen minutes ago. He nodded, without a complaint, and dashed off. He wanted to make sure he hurried back. No way was he going to leave the Kazekage all by himself when he was doing such a massive jutsu.

Gaara tried not to stray too far from his thoughts on the sand dome, but images of Sakura's face kept invading his mind. His heart began to hurt. He hadn't even said goodbye, and now he was probably never going to see her again. He knew it…he was going to die, this was too much even for him. He could feel his psyche breaking from the strain of this magnitude.

It seemed like hours until Shikamaru came back, assuring him that they were all safe and trying to keep their spirits up. "Please…allow me another favor Shikamaru." He panted out, a cold sweat dripping down his face from the pressure he was receiving.

"Anything Gaara. What is it?"

He opened both his eyes and focused on the man before him. "I need you…to go…" he stopped, his eyes shutting in pain as someone attempted to break through the shield. Finally after a moment he locked back on the Konoha shinobi. "I won't be able to last much longer," he admitted, making the dark haired ninja go wide eyed. "So, please run as fast as you can and tell everyone outside to _get off. _ I am going to take all these shinobi down…even if it means I have to take them down with me…but all my villagers need to be free from my sand."

"Gaara that's insane!" Shikamaru actually yelled. "There has to be some other way, you can't sacrifice yourself like that!"

"Go!" Gaara shouted, glaring now. "Do _not_ try and stop me. I need to protect my village and right now that means killing all these invaders. Now go!"

Shikamaru nodded, stepping back hesitantly and then turning to run. "Wait." Gaara said softly, the man halted and looked back, seeing that the redhead was obviously in pain. "Take care of my sister…she needs someone good." He nodded, closing his eyes once more and straightened his straining back.

Shikamaru dashed off then, not giving the Kazekage another glance. He bounded off the buildings, heading for the only exit and entrance to Suna. It was a bright awakening to see sunlight. He tried shielding his eyes from the beating rays. After his eyes adjusted he jumped up, pumping chakra to his feet and landing on the solid dome. He rushed around, telling every other Suna shinobi he saw to retreat immediately and to pass it on. They began to run instantly, knowing that Shikamaru was delivering their Kazekage's messages. The Nara head slid off the dome and landed on the hot sand, telling all the ninja to back away. Temari ran to his side, followed by Sakura and Kiba. "What's going on?! Why aren't you with Gaara?" she demanded.

They all followed his gaze and once all the Suna ninja were off the dome, it turned to loose sand, shooting out and wrapping around all the falsely assuming Iwagakure nin. Their victorious shouts suddenly turned to surprised shrieks. Temari and Kiba went wide eyed, watching the entire dome suck in their opponents. It pulled away from the edges of the village, letting sunlight spill onto the village for the first time in days. It formed into a familiar cocoon, hovering above the entire place.

* * *

Gaara held his hands up, his whole body shaking from the intensity. He had only controlled this much sand once before, and it was out of desperation. His outstretched fingers quickly closed into fists as the sand coffin imploded. Muffled screams could be heard from all over the area, slowly the sand began to pour out to the sides of the desert, so the village would sustain no harm. Now there were only a handful of enemies left, but they quickly retreated, not willing anymore to continue the fighting.

Once all of the sand was poured back into the desert, Gaara's eyes closed for the last time. He fell forward, pushed past exhaustion, and hit the ground with a dead thump.


	13. Revealed

**Typhoon**

_Chapter Thirteen_

-Revealed-

Sakura ran into the village, heading straight for the Kazekage Tower where Shikamaru had said Gaara was located. Sending chakra to her feet, she climbed the tower as quickly as she could. Reaching the top, she let out a pained cry at seeing her fallen lover. She ran to his side and pulled him into her arms.

"Gaara! Gaara can you hear me?!" she asked desperately, shaking him slightly.

Receiving no response, she began to pour some of her remaining chakra into him to keep him alive a little bit longer. When she was sure he was stable, she immediately took him to the hospital. Shouting orders to some of her best nurses, she brought him into a room and immediately began to heal him.

* * *

A week later, she came into his room, completely exhausted. She had stayed with him every day and night, despite her staff's recommendations on her health. She would be here when he woke up dammit, just as he had for her. Besides, the house was vast and lonely when she was by herself.

She walked over to his bed and sat down in the chair next to it. Grabbing his hand, she kissed it softly and began to stroke it comfortingly, just as she had every day before. He was completely healed by now, but had yet to wake up even once. She had poured so much of her chakra into him that first day, that she had been on the brink of passing out. Nobody oversaw him but her, and she made sure that he was never alone.

Around noon her head began to droop. She had barely slept this past week, waking up every time she thought she heard a noise. Getting out of her chair, she carefully laid down next to her redheaded fiancé. Wrapping an arm around his middle, she fell asleep.

It was only about an hour after the tired medic had passed out. Without moving, Gaara's eyes cracked open. He searched around the room, trying to figure where he was. Finally feeling the warmth beside him, he looked down and saw the pink hair he had come so accustomed to. He let out a small sigh, "Sakura."

She came awake instantly at the sound of his voice. Sitting up slightly, she looked into his eyes. "Gaara! You're awake! How are you feeling? Do you want me to get off?" she asked these questions in a rush, her excitement at having him awake and concern over his wellbeing pouring out of her in waves.

He blinked and stared at her for a moment. "Um fine and no, that's ok." He replied, a bit perplexed by her behavior.

She hugged him fiercely. By now the block she had put on her tear ducts had worn off, and her tears were free to flow down her face. "I'm so glad you're ok." She whispered, trying unsuccessfully to hold back her tears.

He slowly wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly, "Sakura…really I'm alright. There's no need for you to be so sad." He tried to smile. He didn't like it when she cried, and especially not when it was because of him.

She sniffled, beginning to calm down. She looked up at him with watery eyes. "I'm not sad, I'm happy. You had me so worried for a while there that's all. Do you know how many people I killed to get to you?" she asked, a smile tugging at the corner of her mouth.

"Well if you're happy then why are you crying?" he pointed out, clearly not understanding the concept.

She began to laugh, not really surprised that he didn't understand. "Haven't you ever heard of 'tears of joy'? That's what these are."

He decided to leave it at that, even though it still didn't make sense. Why would you cry if you were happy? He looked away from her and at his surroundings again. "Am I in the hospital?"

"Yeah." She said in a sigh. "I brought you here after I stabilized your chakra."

He looked back down at her. "How long has it been?"

She looked away. "A week." She said softly.

"A week?!" he sat up, extremely alarmed. "I've been dead for a WEEK?!"

Sliding off the bed from his sudden movement, she hit the chair and then the ground. Getting back up she scowled at him. "You weren't dead! So don't say that! Your body was exhausted, and needed time to recuperate. If I hadn't gotten to you when I did and poured my remaining chakra into your body, you would have been asleep for much longer."

"Well you know what, if I'm blacked out then that's dead to me." He told her solidly, crossing his arms tightly over his chest. He couldn't remember what had happened, until a flash of the scene came hurdling back into focus. He then stiffened and attempted to get out of bed. "What happened to the village? Is everyone alright?"

She grabbed his shoulders and pushed him back onto the bed. "Everyone is fine." She assured him. "No harm came to the village or the people. You did an excellent job. Now you need to rest. Until you're fit to leave, I don't want to see you get out of this bed." She told him, kissing the kanji on his forehead, the way he always did hers.

He glanced up at her, "But Sakura I feel fine." He attempted to stand once more.

She pushed him down again. "Gaara, we already discussed this when Temari was here. In the hospital, _I'm_ the boss. You need to stay for observation for a while, just so we can be sure that you're fully ok. Whether or not you feel fine doesn't matter. It's if _I_ feel you are fine that counts."

His hands grabbed onto her waist and pulled her hips against his, he arched his neck, getting a good look up into his fierce woman's eyes. He wasn't dressed in his clothes, but he wasn't wearing the required hospital wear either. Temari told them all how pissed Gaara would be if he woke up in it. He had his draw string black pants and an over sized black t-shirt on, that was now slipping off one of his shoulders. He let his fingers play with the hem of her skirt, locking his gaze with hers. "Now Sakura, you don't trust a Kage to know if he's well or not?" he asked huskily, letting his chin rest between her breasts.

She blushed at his actions. Shaking her head, she tried to give him a stern look, but failed miserably. "I don't trust anyone to know if they're well or not." She brought her hands up from his shoulders and slid her fingers into his hair, getting up and straddling his waist as she did so. "Do you not trust a highly skilled medic to take good care of you?"

"Not when she's trying to keep me prisoner," he whispered darkly, one of his hands already making its way up her shirt.

The door burst open and Naruto flew in, crying out excitedly, "GAARA! You better be awake! Whoa…" he froze, Neji, Kiba, Tenten, and Ino were in the doorway staring in. Sakura immediately got off, blushing darkly and trying to think up some excuse.

"Every freaking time…" Gaara growled, turning his head to glare at the obnoxious blonde.

Sakura laughed sheepishly. "Hey guys! I was just on my way to come get you."

"Yeah right Forehead, you were trying to play doctor with your fiancé here. We're not blind." Ino said, walking into the room.

"Ino-pig…." Sakura mumbled threateningly.

Naruto ignored this and came bouncing over to the side of the bed. "So Gaara, when are they gonna let you free? Cause' we gotta go get our tuxes fit and stuff for the wedding in two days." The blonde asked.

Gaara went a bit wide eyed. "Two days? Oh! I almost forgot," he hit himself in the forehead with his palm. Neji came in, followed by Tenten.

"It's alright Gaara, Kiba already told me where to go. I can take Naruto to the place and we can get fitted so you don't have to deal with this minor annoyance." Neji spoke wisely, dragging the irritating blonde away from the Kazekage. "And he's fine Sakura, you can take him home now, I doubt he likes being here." The brunette told her, disappearing out the door with a yelling angry ninja.

Sakura crossed her arms, upset that her game was over. "I was gonna take him home….I just wanted to mess with him a bit first."

"Whatever Sakura," Tenten laughed and headed out with a brooding light blonde following. "See you tomorrow Sakura for dress shopping!" they both waved and disappeared.

Gaara looked over at his lovely lady and smirked, "Well sounds like I can go home now." He stood confidently.

She walked over to the chair she had sat in. Reaching into a bag that was next to it, she turned and handed him a pile of clothes. "Here, I figured you'd want to change before leaving. We still have to officially check you out of the hospital, so I'll meet you down in the lobby. There's something that I need to check on first." She told him.

He blinked, taking the clothes away from her and watching her suspiciously. "Alright…I'll meet you downstairs."

She left the room then, and headed down the hall. He sighed and grabbed his shirt, pulling it over his head and then stripping his pants off. It didn't take him long to change back into his normal attire. Tossing his other clothes in the bag, he walked out of the room and found the lobby, almost expecting Sakura to be there waiting for him. When she wasn't he grew a bit irritated. He really just wanted to go home, so he went to the receptionist and asked where Sakura was.

"Oh well, she came and checked you out from the hospital Kazekage-sama, and then went up to see Akane." The woman smiled, pulling out a piece of paper and writing the room number down on it. "The children will be in the hospital playroom at this time, so here you go."

He took the paper and headed down the hall and up the stairs to the second floor. He glanced at the numbers, trying to find the right match, when he stopped at a window. He looked inside and there was Sakura, talking to one of the girls. She was a frail little thing. He stepped closer to the glass, completely content with just watching.

"Sakura-sama, is Kazekage-sama alright?" Akane asked, hazel eyes full of concern.

She smiled tenderly at the little girl. "Yes, he's fine. I'm going to take him home in a few minutes."

Akane's face lit up with happiness. "That's wonderful! Do you think you could read me a story before you go? None of the other nurses does the voices as good as you."

Laughing, Sakura agreed, and had the whole room of kids come sit around her, keeping Akane in her lap. She picked up a random story, something about a mean dragon falling in love with the princess it captured and turning into a handsome prince.

He stared at Sakura and then the children around her, noticing how happy she looked. Unlike she had been for the past couple of days before the beginning of the war. His expression turned pained, he wished he could make her happy again. He focused on the girl named Akane, who seemed so happy in Sakura's arms. And the pink haired medic looked so…motherly. He froze, his eyes going a bit wide. So that _was_ it. Sakura wanted to be a mother, and he had told her he didn't like children. But it hadn't meant he didn't want to have them with her. His own children that he could love…like he loved Sakura. He stopped his thoughts. No, he wouldn't be able to love them…because of who he was. But his determination boiled. Sakura was going to tell him what she wanted. No matter what.

When the story was over, she said goodbye to the kids, kissing Akane on the forehead. She got up and walked over to one of the nurses who were watching the children. "I'm going to leave now Hitomi-san. Gaara's probably impatient to get home."

"Ok Sakura-sama! Thanks for coming by to see the kids. They just adore you." The ebony haired woman said.

"Yeah." She sighed. "I love kids, but I won't have any of my own, so I'm content to spend time with those who need the attention."

The other woman raised a confused brow. "Why not just have kids with Kazekage-sama? Or are you unable to?"

"No it's not that." She answered, shaking her head. "Gaara doesn't want kids, and I'm going to respect his wishes."

"I understand. Well, have a nice day! I'll see you at the wedding I suppose!" Hitomi said.

"Bye!" Sakura said, waving as she headed for the door.

As she walked out she froze, horrified. She slowly turned her head to see the man leaning against the wall to the door. "G-Gaara? How long have you been there?" she paled, seeing his angry expression. This was not good, had he overheard her?

The redhead crossed his arms and pushed away from the wall, a glare set on his face. "You never asked me if _I wanted_ children."

She met his glare with one of her own, crossing her arms as well. "I didn't have to. If you don't like children, then I don't see why you would want any."

"No! Other people's children are completely different than if I had my own. I thought everyone knew that." He straightened up. He would not be defeated in this matter. He was pissed that something so much as a misplay on words had caused all these problems. "They're two completely different questions and why didn't you just tell me?! It could have solved your depression issues a lot sooner."

"Depression issues?! I'll show you depression issues!" she said, raising a fist. It was then that she noticed people staring at them, including some of the kids through the glass. Lowering her hand, she took a deep breath. "This isn't the place to be having this discussion." She said calmly.

His glare only intensified. "Well then maybe you shouldn't have lied to me." He stepped forward and grabbed her wrists, the two disappearing in a violent whirl of sand.

Some of the nurses just stared at the spot where the spat had gone down. "…Ok?"

* * *

The angry pair appeared in their bedroom. Gaara released her as soon as they had touched the ground. "I'm so angry right now Sakura! All this time I thought your sadness was my fault! And I tried to do something about that, but you hardly got happy! I thought that…" he stopped, not wanting to continue those painful words. He turned away from her and walked towards the large balcony window, his arms once more crossed tightly over his chest.

Her angry expression changed to one of guilt. She hadn't meant to hurt him in such a way. She began to wring her hands nervously. Looking at the carpet, she said, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you think those things. But you have to know that I will always love you, no matter what. I was just upset because I had always wanted kids, and I figured, given enough time, I would be okay with not having any. I didn't talk to you about it because I didn't want you to get angry."

"Well I'm angry now because you didn't talk about it with me. Sakura," he turned around, not looking as furious as he had before. He walked towards her, stopping when they were only centimeters away. "We're getting married, we can't keep doing this to each other. Hiding our feelings or our thoughts…I can't read your mind…I need you to tell me what you're thinking and what's bothering you…and I will do my best to do the same with you…though it may take me a little longer…I will try…" he nodded, taking her hands with his. "I love you Sakura, what you want is what I want…please don't ever think you could guilt me into something…" he sighed and brought her closer, resting his head on hers. "You know that if I really didn't want it…it would not happen…"

She hugged him then, tears running down her face. "You're right and I'm sorry. From now on I'll tell you when I'm upset and stuff." Burying her face in the crook of his neck, she nuzzled him apologetically. Bringing her face away, she gave him a worried look. "But, the council said that we have to have a child within the first year of our marriage, otherwise we can't get married at all if we don't agree. And I didn't want us to have a child because we had to. I wanted us to have one because we _wanted_ to."

She could feel how stiff he became. He looked down at her, obviously trying to quail the fury that was surfacing. "What?"

Sakura blinked up at him. "The council. The day after we arrived they called me from work to discuss what I should expect and the requirements of being your wife. Is something wrong?" she asked, searching his face.

"The council called a meeting without me there?" he asked, trying his best to clarify the situation so he wasn't misinformed.

"Yes. They said that your work was too busy to interrupt with such trivial matters, and that you were already aware of what was going on. Was I misinformed?" she asked, beginning to see what the council had done.

He released her quickly, walking off so that out of his rage he wouldn't do something to hurt her. "You were terribly misinformed…" Gaara seethed out through gritted teeth. He looked back at her, his hands tightening to threatening fists. "The council is not _allowed_ to meet without me present, and it especially isn't supposed to lie!" he yelled. He walked back to her and grabbed her hand tightly, but gently. "Come on." He said as his sand picked up again and once more they vanished.

* * *

The members of the council looked around nervously, all but a confident blonde. Gaara sat in his chair, looking more murderous than he had in years. The silence went on, until someone was stupid enough to speak up. "So Gaara-kun why did you call this meeting?" Matsuri smiled, as if she couldn't sense the threatening aura radiating off the redhead.

"Do not speak another word." Gaara glared at the girl, all his hatred now focused on a single person. She shrank back, pressing her lips tightly together. He stood up, the council following his lead. The doors came open and Sakura sauntered in, and most of the elders couldn't hide their horrified faces.

Sakura didn't bother to hide the smirk that was plastered on her face. She went immediately beside Gaara, who set his hand on her shoulder. "Sit." He ordered, and not wanting to infuriate him further, they all sat. Gaara gestured for Sakura to take his seat, and the terror in their eyes only grew. The Kazekage had given his seat up to his fiancé, and now there was nowhere for him to sit.

They all looked around, as if trying to decide who would leave. "Matsuri." Hana spoke up angrily. "How _dare_ you. Get up and leave this council, seeing as you are the youngest and newest member. That is unforgivable that you keep your Kazekage standing. Get out. _Now_." She ordered, her glare matching Gaara's. The girl went pale and hurriedly stood from her seat.

"Gaara-kun, I'm so-"

"Kazekage-sama." Sakura corrected, giving a glare of her own.

Matsuri looked at the medic, trying to hold in her embarrassing anger. "I'm so sorry Kazekage-sama." She bowed, still not leaving.

"Get out." He finalized.

She yelped and rushed out of the room, trying her best not to cry. Every member of the council moved down a seat so that Gaara could take the one next to Sakura. Once everyone was situated he looked around the room, lacing his fingers together and resting them on the table. "If I _ever_ find out that you held a council meeting without me again, without my permission, you will all die. If you think you are not expendable you are dead wrong." Hana tried to stifle her laugh. She had already spoken with the Kazekage and Sakura, since Sakura had told Gaara that the only one who seemed to be trying to help her was Hana. "Now…" he trailed off, looking over at his lovely wife to be. "Sakura, do you have anything to say?"

She placed her hands delicately on the table, giving everyone a polite smile. "Well, what I didn't get the chance to say the other day was thank you. I wanted to thank all of you for the concern you show your village. And to thank you for being kind enough to help me out, since I don't understand everything about the politics in Suna. But Gaara and I are fully capable of deciding how to live our lives, and whether or not we will have children is _our_ decision, not yours. So thanks, but no thanks." She said in a sickeningly sweet voice, still smiling.

By now some of the men of the council had shrunk in shame. For even though Sakura hadn't yelled at them, she was being overly polite. There really wasn't much they could say in order to defend themselves.

Finally tearing his gaze from her, Gaara looked back at the council. "Now is there anything else that I actually _haven't_ been informed of? Or would you all prefer to lie some more to the woman who is going to be your superior?"

Every single one of them shook their heads. They did not want to say anything that might upset their leaders further. "Good, now I hope to see you all at the wedding. You are dismissed." Gaara stood and lent his hand down to Sakura, who took it graciously. They left before any of the others even moved.

"Well that went well," the redhead sighed with relief.

"It did, didn't it?" she asked, fully agreeing with him. She was proud of herself for not yelling at them and bashing one of their heads in as an example. Because if one of them had spoken up, she would have been pretty close.

She looked at Gaara inquisitively. "So what are we gonna do now? I really just want to go home. I haven't slept in our bed since before I left on that mission." She admitted, her sore back agreeing with her fully.

"Well me either." He laughed, wanting nothing more than to crawl in bed with her and fall asleep. Despite his coma like state, he didn't feel it was very restful. Before another word could be said, they were once more in their room with the help of his sand.

She pulled off her boots and kunai holster. Then unbuckled her skirt and threw her shirt off. She was too exhausted to care about propriety, and didn't really feel like changing into her pajamas. Without looking back at Gaara, she crawled into the bed, pulling back the covers on his side as she got in. Looking over at him, she gave him a tired smile and patted the spot next to her invitingly.

He was already in only his pants. Deciding to be as lazy as she was, he got in next to her and pulled the covers around them. He faced her and just let his jade meet her beautiful emerald. She smiled at him and scooted closer, snuggling into his warmth. She sighed contentedly. "Just think, in two days, we'll be married."

He nodded, wrapping his arms tightly around her. "And so begins the rest of our lives."


	14. Midnight Reunion

**Typhoon**

_Chapter Fourteen_

-Midnight Reunion-

Sakura sighed as she left the hospital early. Gaara had to work late today, since their wedding was tomorrow, and they were both taking a few days off to just relax. Plus, he had a week's worth of work to catch up on, and she had to meet up with the girls and make sure their bridesmaids dresses fit.

She walked down the street and met everyone in front of the shop. "Hey guys. Ready?"

"Please. I was born ready Forehead." Ino said, walking past her and into the shop.

Sakura rolled her eyes and held the door open for everyone else. "Don't listen to that blonde Sakura. As long as the dresses don't suck, I'll be fine." Temari said, also walking into the shop.

"We'll be fine with whatever you picked out. Right Hinata?" Tenten asked, grabbing her hand and pulling her in.

"Of course." The ebony haired girl said, giving Sakura a sheepish smile.

Sakura smiled at her friend's antics and followed them into the shop. Hearing the bells in the door chime, the shop keeper came out, all smiles. "Hello ladies! Oh Sakura-sama! I have the dresses you ordered in the back! I'll go fetch them right now!" she said, turning around and disappearing through a curtain.

"Well hello to you too Ms. Overly Nice Shopkeeper." Ino said. Turning to Sakura, she asked, "So Forehead, what do the dresses look like?"

She shook her head negatively. "You just have to wait and see Ino. They are all the same color as the guy's vests, so don't worry, it'll look nice."

Just then the shopkeeper came out with the dresses hanging over her arm. She placed them all in separate dressing rooms, telling each girl which one they were assigned to. Her friends went in, and about five minutes later emerged, all in their dresses.

The dresses were silver and floor length. They were made of satin, and had a halter top with a satin A-Line skirt. The middle was wrapped in satin as well, making it so that the waist of the wearer looked slim. The back of the dress dipped low, but only enough to where the dress still looked elegant.

Turning and looking at herself in the mirror, Ino smiled. "Nice work Forehead. I like it."

The other girls agreed with Ino's statement. "I told you there wasn't anything to worry about."

"Oh excellent!" the shopkeeper exclaimed, joining them. "Do all of the dresses fit properly?" she asked, checking them all.

"I believe they do. If you could have them delivered to the hotel by noon tomorrow that would be great." Sakura said, pulling out some money Gaara had given her earlier and handing it to the woman.

"Of course Sakura-sama! I would be honored!" the shopkeeper said, putting the money in her cash register.

After everyone was changed they left the shop, deciding to go out to dinner. Along the way they ran into Kiba, who looked confused, and the guys, who looked angry.

"Hey guys, what's up?" Sakura asked, curious as to why they were in the shops district for women.

"Kiba seems to have forgotten where the tux shop is." Neji glared, all his irritation focused on the spiky haired brunette.

"Haha! What? Sorry!" he shrugged. Shikamaru sighed, muttering something about it all being bothersome.

"Anyways!" Naruto blurted out, pushing through the group and taking Sakura's hands in his. "Since you probably know this village better than the rest of us, can you show us where the shop is?"

"Hey! I was born here! Why not ask me?!" Temari asked the blonde, placing her hands on her hips.

"Hehe." Naruto laughed awkwardly, placing a hand behind his head. "Well, you're kinda scary, and I like Sakura-chan better." He admitted.

Sakura stepped between them before Temari could strangle him. "Sure, _we_ would be glad to show you guys the way."

The group walked a few streets over, until they were at the one where the tux shop was located. She stopped in front of the store and turned to the boys. "Well, you guys were only a few streets off. I trust Neji at least remembers the way back? I can't have you all missing for the wedding." Sakura said, looking over to the brunette.

"Of course Sakura, we'll be there. I know were the hotel is at least." He gave her a smile before disappearing though the doors.

The rest followed, waving goodbye to the girls since that was the last they would see of them till the next day. Naruto stopped in the doorway and glanced back, "Oh yeah Sakura-chan. Sasuke is here, and he's looking for you. So whatever." He laughed, shutting the door then.

She groaned. She really didn't feel like talking to the Uchiha, so she wouldn't go out of her way to see him.

After having dinner with the girls, she went home and got a shower. When she got out she walked across the room in her towel and entered the closet. She dug through her clothes, and, finding what she was looking for, got dressed. She had decided to put on her black nightgown that ended right past her butt, and was trimmed with pink lace. It was low cut and form-fitting at the top, just barely showing off her cleavage. She had decided that since Gaara had a long day at the office, she would wear this for him, to show him what he would be getting tomorrow night. Once she was dressed, she walked out of the closet and crawled into bed.

A few seconds later she sat up and looked over to the window, which was open. Strange, she didn't remember leaving the window open. She hadn't even opened it in the first place. Suddenly she realized that she wasn't alone, and swiftly turned her head to one of the corners of the room, kunai drawn.

"Sakura." A familiar voice said from the shadows.

"Sasuke. What are you doing here?" she asked, sinking down into the bed and pulling the covers up so he wouldn't see what she was wearing.

"I've been looking for you." Was all he said as he walked towards the foot of the bed, eyeing her form underneath the covers. He had seen what she was wearing, and part of him was jealous. She should be _his_, not the Sabaku's.

"So I heard. But I've been extremely busy lately, you know, planning my wedding that's happening tomorrow." she said, hoping that he would take the hint and leave her alone.

But of course, he ignored it. "I just wanted to let you know that my offer of marriage still stands. I know how stressed you've been lately, I can see it on your face."

"So? A lot has happened over the past week, in case you didn't know." She snapped, pulling the covers just a bit higher. She didn't like the way he was looking at her.

"Well, I know how to get rid of your stress. Run away with me. Tonight." He said, completely serious.

"What?!" she asked, appalled.

"You heard me. Come with me back to Konoha." He said. Before he could continue, the bedroom door was opened and in walked Gaara.

The redhead stopped, his expression only slightly surprised. "Um…" he looked from Sasuke and then to Sakura, noting she seemed extremely mortified about her body. "Should I leave you two alone?" he asked, but only seemed to be asking Sakura. "Though…honey…try not to put any holes in the wall." He smirked deviously.

Sasuke snorted. "Why so confident Sabaku? How do you know we aren't going to do more than just talk?" he asked, raising an arrogant brow.

Gaara actually laughed. "Well Uchiha, there are three reasons why I really don't care. One…if you haven't noticed she's in _my_ bed." He held up one finger. "Two, tomorrow when she walks down the aisle, it'll be _me_ standing at the front. And when she comes back to _my_ bed tomorrow night…I can tell you, we won't be sleeping." He smirked, holding up a second finger. "And three, I'm so sure that she would never leave me for you…that I just don't even consider you a threat anymore." He raised a third finger and then crossed his arms. "So if you're quite finished creeping on _my_ fiancé, you can leave."

"Ch." He said with a disdainful scowl. Then, without another word, he disappeared through the window.

Sakura sighed in relief and relaxed somewhat, loosening her grip on the comforter beneath her chin. "Well, that was awkward." She said, turning to her soon-to-be husband.

"Yes… I suppose it was." He replied, going to the window and locking it for the first time. He turned back to her and let his gaze lower. He wondered what she was hiding beneath the covers. He walked over to her side and ripped the covers away from her body, revealing the slinky night gown she was wearing. A devious smile crept over his face, "And what, dare I ask, is this for?" he arched what could be a brow, pinching the silky material and trying to move it further up her leg.

She blushed profusely and tried to lower the hem back down. "Oh, it's nothing. I just thought…you know…since you were working late and all…I would surprise you…sort of…." She said, squirming in her effort to keep the skirt down. "Would you stop that?!" she asked, now thinking that maybe wearing this wasn't such a good idea after all.

He released the cloth and smiled up at her, "Fine, fine. I'll behave. Besides…I've waited this long. One more day wouldn't kill me." With that he kissed her forehead and left her, disappearing into the bathroom. She heard the shower turn on and decided to snuggle back underneath the covers. It wasn't much longer until the shower stopped and Gaara walked out with nothing but a towel around his waist.

She tried not to stare, but it was impossible. Blushing, she snuggled deeper into the covers and let out a soft sigh. Tomorrow was the big day after all, and she _couldn't_ wait.

Gaara walked towards the bed, not bothering to go into the closet. Without any shame he pulled the towel from around his waist and dried his hair as much as possible.

Her eyes widened in shock. It wasn't that she had never seen that much of him before, but that was one time, and she was in the heat of the moment. So, out of her embarrassment from staring at a particular area of his body, she rolled over, hoping that her face would cool off by the time he came to bed.

To her surprise, time for bed was right then. Tossing the towel aside, Gaara pulled back the covers and got in. His sand crept over to the wall and flipped the light off. He turned towards Sakura's back and smiled, "Goodnight sweetheart." He teased.

She stiffened, knowing that he hadn't put his pants on. "A-aren't you going to get dressed?" she asked, her voice quivering.

"Why? It's more comfortable to sleep like this," he shrugged, only imagining how red she must be right now.

"B-but you've never slept like that before." She said, searching for a reason as to why he was doing it now. Was it just to embarrass her? If so, it was working.

"Uh, just because I haven't done it yet with you in the bed, doesn't mean I haven't done it before." He pointed out.

Her face got even redder at this. What if she had walked in on him naked when she had visited Suna the first time? She would have been mortified. "Oh." She said dumbly. He was making it hard for her to think. She could feel the heat radiating from his body, and it was taking all of her willpower not to turn around and snuggle into him.

Before she could register what was happening, his arms wrapped around her waist and he pulled her against him. "I'll see you in the morning beautiful." He whispered huskily into her ear, kissing her neck tenderly. Then he pulled away, not wanting to tempt her too badly. He turned on his side, with his back to her and shut his eyes. He wanted tomorrow to come.

She sighed, face still red. "Goodnight Gaara. I love you." She said, snuggling into her pillow. At least she didn't have to wait a full month for the wedding, but they did cut it pretty close.


	15. Wedding

**Typhoon**

_Chapter Fifteen_

-Wedding-

Gaara's eyes flashed open. Today was the day he was getting married. He rolled over and looked at the slumbering face of his beautiful bride. A smile crept up his face. Today she would be dressed in white and all for him. Carefully he got out of bed, doing his best not to disturb her. He decided he would take another shower, just because he wanted her perfect day to be flawless. Women got pretty crazy during these days, didn't they? After his shower, he dressed. There were a lot of things he needed to get done today. Pick up the tuxes, make sure everything got to the hotel, and all of the guests had to be checked in. He sighed, looking back at his lovely lady. He left the room and came back shortly with a white rose. Having made his side of the bed, he placed the flower on his pillow.

The redhead walked around the bed and leaned down, kissing the top of her head. "I can't wait to marry you today." He whispered, leaving in his usual manner.

About an hour later, Sakura woke up. Stretching, she turned her head to the right and smiled. She grabbed the white rose and brought it to her face, inhaling its scent deeply. He was so romantic when he wanted to be.

Getting out of bed, she stretched once again. She walked into the bathroom and showered once more, wanting to be as clean as possible. She got dressed in her normal clothes, and headed over to the hotel. When she arrived, she went straight to her room to get ready. Ino, Hinata, Tenten and Temari arrived about ten minutes later, and the fancy, clean room transformed into one that looked like a tornado had just blown through it. There was a flurry of makeup and hair products.

Once that was all taken care of, they each put on their dresses. When Sakura pulled her wedding dress out, there was a collective gasp. "Sakura! That dress is beautiful!" Temari said.

"Yeah Forehead. You really know how to pick them." Ino said, reaching out to touch the lace.

"Thank you guys." Sakura said. She pulled the dress out of its wrapper and put it on. It was a strapless dress that was somewhat tight around the torso and flowed loosely past her hips. The entire top half of the dress was covered in a see through lace that went an inch above the dress on the top, and completely covered her arms.

The veil was made of a sheer lace that was trimmed in the same pattern that was on her dress. It was secured to a headband which was decorated with cherry blossoms made out of jewels. Her hair was twisted into a bun, with her bangs hanging down in soft curls at the side of her face.

"Wow Sakura, you're a vision in white." Ino said, clasping her hands together.

"Thanks Ino. That means a lot." Sakura said, smiling at her friend.

Hinata walked towards her then, holding a diamond bracelet. "Here Sakura. Something borrowed." She said softly.

"And here," Ino said, handing her a blue garter. "Something blue."

"Something old." Temari said, giving her a pair of diamond earrings. "These were my mother's."

"And something new." Tenten said, holding up her left hand and showing her her engagement ring.

"Thank you guys!" Sakura said, eyes beginning to water.

Ino rolled her eyes. "Oh come on Forehead. Don't ruin your makeup! I'm not gonna do it again!"

"Hey! That's my line!" Temari said smiling.

They continued to get ready, only having to fix each other's hair and make sure that they each smelled nice. They had less than thirty minutes to show time, and Sakura couldn't wait.

* * *

Gaara looked in the mirror. His stomach dropped, and he couldn't believe how nervous he was. He reached up and began to straighten his red tie. Neji came up behind him, resting a comforting hand on his friend's shoulder. "Today's the big day Gaara, just relax."

The redhead nodded, still unable to calm his nerves. Kiba walked beside him, standing on his other side. "Dude what's wrong? Your dark aura is back."

"What? No it's not." He glared at the brunette, who simply laughed at his response.

"Yeah it is. Trust me man, I can tell.'

With a sigh, he decided to come right out and say it. "Well," he began, turning to the rest of his groom's party. Shikamaru and Naruto looked over, having been preoccupied with their black jackets. "It's just that…Sakura wants to have children…and I do too but,"

"But?" they all asked in unison, even Shikamaru.

"I just…don't think I'll be a good dad. I'm afraid. Since you know who my father was. What if I hurt them?" Gaara asked.

Shikamaru rolled his eyes, Naruto almost exploded with what he had to say, but it was Kiba who spoke up first. "Gaara, just because you're dad was a terrible father does not mean you will be. My dad left me, but that doesn't change how I would act. If I ever did get a kid, there's no way I would leave it."

Neji nodded, "You would make a great father Gaara. It's just like the old saying goes: a man always tries to shoot higher than his father. I know that you would be able to control yourself."

"Yeah Gaara!" Naruto pumped his fist in the air. "You'd be the best dad ever! Well…of course other than me," he smirked, pointing his thumb at himself then.

The Kazekage looked around at the group, a smile almost coming to his face. He _would_ try to be a good dad, and if those kids were anything like Sakura, they would be easy to love. "Thanks guys…" he gave them a nod, and then took a deep breath. It was nearing sunset, meaning it was time to take the stage.

They all fastened their black jackets over their silver vests. All the groomsmen had black ties, while Gaara's was a deep red. They left the room and headed for the room where the ceremony would be held. They stopped in front of the side door that would lead them onto the stage. Finally they filed in, Naruto following Gaara, being the best man, the train consisting then of Neji, Kiba, and then Shikamaru.

The whole room was filled. People from Konoha and Suna on each side for the wedding. And surprisingly, even Yoko and Sosuke were there. As they took their designated spots, Gaara glanced over at his best man and went wide eyed. There replacing his black tie, was an awful orange one. Terror shot through him, but he didn't want to cause a scene, "Naruto." Gaara seethed through clenched teeth, trying to keep his smile on his face. "Take that disgusting orange thing off. _Now_."

"Are you kidding me?" the blonde whispered back. "It's my lucky tie! No way in heck am I gonna take it off."

"I swear to God Naruto. If you do not take that tie off, I will _kill_ you."

"What's going on?" Neji asked just as the music began to play from the orchestra.

"Naruto is wearing the ugliest orange tie I have ever seen." The redhead informed the Hyuuga. Neji looked forward to try and get a glimpse.

"Naruto," the brunette had to stop himself from yelling. "Take it off."

"Dude Naruto, Sakura is going to _murder _you when she see's that." Kiba interjected.

"No she isn't. Sakura-chan loves my sense of fashion." The blonde said, dismissing the topic.

Just then the double doors at the end of the room opened, and in walked the flower girl. Shortly after the bridesmaids entered, starting with Tenten, then Hinata, and then Temari. After a few moments Ino entered as the Maid of Honor, looking every bit the role. Once they were all situated at the front of the room, everyone paused. Then Sakura came into view, along with Kakashi, who was all dressed up for the occasion, but still wearing his mask.

Sakura looked up and made eye contact with Gaara. She smiled at him, her emerald eyes full of love. Suddenly a flash of orange caught her eye, and she looked to Gaara's right. Her gaze narrowed at what she saw. Naruto was wearing the most hideous tie she had ever seen in her life. She would be _damned_ if he ruined her wedding with that thing.

"Naruto…" Neji tried to keep his smile. "Sakura looks like she's going to stab you when she gets up here. You better get rid of that thing."

Gaara didn't care anymore, Sakura looked beautiful. He couldn't believe how perfect she looked, even with her murderous gaze now set on Naruto. It only made her more attractive, and it was one of the reasons why he loved her so much. He stepped down the few stairs and met Kakashi and his beloved.

Handing Sakura over to the redhead, Kakashi gave him a glare. "I hate you." He said, turning away and sitting down next to Tsunade on the front row. At Gaara's confused look, Sakura shrugged.

They walked up the steps and stood in front of the priest. Sakura looked into Gaara's eyes lovingly, and then switched over to the blonde, narrowing her gaze. Before anyone could notice, she looked back up at Gaara, smiling.

Naruto had begun to sweat nervously. He knew what promises that look held. So, as discreetly as possible, he ripped the tie off his neck and stuffed it into his pocket.

The priest cleared his throat and both Gaara and Sakura, still veiled, focused on him. "Dearly beloveds, we are all gathered here today to celebrate a very important bond, one that not only unites two young individuals…but two villages."

"Now, this couple has decided to write their own vows, which they will now recite to each other, before being eternally joined in holy matrimony." He gave them each a bow and stepped back. Gaara took both of Sakura's hands in his and faced her full on.

"Sakura, I love you. You are my life, without you I find it hard to breathe and now…I can't imagine a life where you are not by my side. I want to make you happy, I want to make you smile and laugh, I want to give you all the things you could ever want. You _are _my purpose, and I will devote my life to you…from this day on." He smiled, meaning every word. He wasn't even embarrassed that he had said all this in front of a large crowd. He was glad to finally pronounce that Sakura was his to the world. He pulled a white gold band from his pocket and slid it on her finger to join with her diamond.

The pink haired woman smiled back at him. "Gaara, you are my world. I can't go five minutes without wondering what you are doing, or if you're thinking of me, as I am thinking of you. Whenever I need you, you're there. I want you to be the last one I see when I go to bed at night, and the first one I see when I wake up in the mornings. I love you more than life itself, and would do anything to make you happy. Seeing you smile…it means the world to me." She said, eyes watering from all the emotion she was feeling. She took the matching white gold band off her bouquet and slid it onto his own ring finger. Now she had evidence to the whole world that he belonged to her.

After they had finished they both looked at the priest, who took his spot in front of them once more. "Now, if anyone has any reason for these two to not be wed, please speak now, or forever hold your peace."

At this Kakashi began to stand. But before he could, Tsunade reached out and clutched his knee, causing him to let out a pained gasp, his visible eye crinkled in pain. Everyone in the room looked over at the two, various expressions on their faces. Sakura just looked at the priest and shook her head, signaling for him to continue.

"Well then by the power vested in me, I can now happily pronounce you husband and wife." He smiled, gesturing for Gaara to lift the veil. "You may kiss your bride."

With that said Gaara placed his hands under the lace veil and started to lift it from her face. All the girls began to smile, doing their best to hold in squeals. Finally jade met wet emerald and the redhead tossed the veil over her head. He smiled, she looked amazing. He took her face in his hands and leaned closer. "You look so beautiful Sakura." He whispered, pressing his lips against hers in their most passionate kiss yet.

She smiled into the kiss and threw her arms around his neck, returning his passion equally. By now all of the guests were standing and applauding. Well, all except Sasuke, who was scowling, and Kakashi, who was in too much pain to stand.

They pulled apart from their kiss after a few more moments. Lacing their fingers together, they made their way down the aisle, followed by their bridesmaids and groomsmen. Ino and Naruto linked arms and followed the newlyweds. Then Neji and Tenten, Hinata and Kiba, and Shikamaru and Temari.

* * *

After the photographs had been taken of the wedding party and the bride and groom, they finally went off to the reception where all the guests had already adjourned. Gaara and Sakura stood outside the room, the double doors closed as they awaited their introduction. The redhead glanced over at his beautiful bride, before leaning over and whispering into her ear. "How does it feel to be Sabaku no Sakura?"

Sakura smiled up at him. "Like a dream come true." She said, squeezing his hand.

At the sound of their new joined name and the opening of the doors, they walked in hand in hand, surrounded by applause. Surprisingly, Gaara didn't hate being in the spotlight this time. He wanted them all to see how much he loved Sakura. They made their way to the main table and sat down in the two empty seats with the rest of the wedding party. At this everyone else began to find their seats. And once it was quiet enough, Ino stood and tapped her glass with a fork.

The room went silent then and the waiters started filling everyone's glasses with champagne. "I just wanted to make a toast to the lovely couple. May your marriage be filled with happiness and love. And don't think Kiba and I won't come over often, cause' we will." The blonde said, smiling.

Sakura laughed at this, glancing at Gaara from the corner of her eye. He didn't look too happy at the thought of seeing her two friends every so often. As Ino sat down, Naruto stood up.

"So, I'm really only making this speech cause' I have to, you know, as the best man and all. And I don't really have any pretty words prepared, so I'm just gonna wing it!" he exclaimed, smiling goofily.

At this announcement Sakura gripped her champagne glass fiercely. Dear god please let him not say anything too embarrassing. Gaara glanced over at his friend, his thoughts on a more threatening note. If he ruined this with his idiocy he would pay.

"Well…I'd just like to start off with a couple things!" he practically yelled, even though everyone could hear him clearly. That was when Gaara noticed the disgusting orange tie that was back around Naruto's neck. That tie would be his downfall when the Kage used it to strangle the blonde. "I'm so happy for my best friend, there really is no better girl in the world…besides Hinata-chan, who's more beautiful and brilliant than anyone else I have ever known. But Gaara, you got a good one, not quite as good as Hinata-chan, but pretty close! Since you know Hinata-chan's mine and all." He laughed loudly, rubbing his finger under his nose.

Gaara's eye visibly twitched, he should have known better than to let the moron speak. Continuing, the fox boy only got brasher. "But this isn't about Hinata-chan right now. It's about Gaara and Sakura-chan…who have taught me something very important. Because good God, they couldn't have been any stupider!" At this the glass in Gaara's hand shattered from the tightened grip.

"TWO WEEKS it took for them to realize what they meant to each other…I mean how dense can you get? They practically did it on his desk before they admitted to each other they were in love!" Naruto laughed once more, slapping his knee as if it were the funniest thing in the world.

Sakura's glass didn't even shatter at this, it was ground into dust. Pure. Glass. Dust. Her other hand was clutching the table. If he didn't shut up right now….she was going to shove that hideous tie down his throat. Problem solved.

"But back to the point. Watching these two morons made me realize that when you find the one, you want to stay with them forever. And not take so frickin' long to tie the knot. I mean, really guys? You had to meet up every once in a while for six months? Do you realize how depressed Sakura-chan was after Gaara would leave? Talk about needy." He said, face completely serious.

Sakura's fingers dug into the wood of the table through the white table cloth. That's it. He was going to die.

"And then Gaara, come on man. Every time you guys were together you were all mean, and possessive. You might as well have put on an ape suit and pounded on your chest, screaming 'Cherry Blossom mine!' That's how obvious you were." The blonde continued, shaking his head at his friend.

"Uh Naruto…" Neji tried to silence the man, but was interrupted by the continued speech. Gaara was seething now, he was so angry he couldn't see straight anymore.

"And then when you guys _finally_ got engaged. I mean come on, a whole month? I would have thought with as far as you guys had gone you would be married on the spot! But aside from that…guys," he turned to the two murderous auras, completely oblivious to their intent. "Thanks to both of your arrogant, prideful, annoying, sexual tension building, teasing behavior, I realized something. I don't want to be a moron like Gaara and Sakura-chan. So today! At my best friend's wedding," Naruto stopped and faced Hinata, who was sitting beside him. "Hinata-chan…I want to marry you. So that we don't have to beat around the bush…just like our retarded friends." With that Naruto kneeled down and pulled out a velvet box, showing Hinata the diamond ring he had gotten for her.

"So what do you say?" he asked, nothing but love in his eyes for the quiet girl.

By now Gaara had a knife in his hand, ready to stab the moron beside him. He looked over at Sakura and leaned over. "I say…after the reception we take Naruto to a dark alley and kill him there. It'll be easier to cover up." He said, completely serious.

There were finger lines on the table where she had dragged her hand down it in anger. But her gaze softened slightly. "We can't kill him now, Hinata will be devastated. He finally popped the question! I say we take him to that torture chamber beneath the Kazekage Tower. That way he can be kept alive. Barely." She said.

"Yeah, yeah. Then we can get payback." He nodded, returning his gaze back on the newly engaged couple.

Hinata's face was the reddest it had ever been. She didn't know what to say. Well, she knew what to say, she just didn't expect this to happen to her. Ever. She nodded. "Y-yes Naruto-kun. I would love to marry you."

The blonde whooped joyfully, sliding the ring onto her finger and bringing her up for a fierce hug. Then he pulled away and kissed her passionately, not caring that they had an audience. At this Kakashi stood up and began to clap.

"Atta boy Naruto! I'm so proud of you." The jounin said, a tear in his visible eye.

Gaara rolled his eyes, leaning back in his chair. He really, _really_ hated Kakashi. After the initial glow was over the redhead grabbed onto the back of Naruto's jacket and yanked him down into his seat. "Naruto," he said, leaning over a bit.

"Yes Gaara?"

"I don't want to hear your voice for the rest of the night, do you understand?" he asked, now holding the back of the blonde's neck painfully.

Before he could respond, Gaara heard one of the coordinators begin to talk. "And now it's time for Kazekage-sama and Sakura-sama to share their first dance as a married couple." He looked over at Sakura, who seemed to have calmed down by now. He took her hand eagerly, since he did love dancing with her. They stood together and made their way to the cleared area for their dance. Sakura placed her hand in his, and her other on his shoulder. And as the music started, they began to move together in perfect rhythm. "We're married," Gaara laughed, leaning down and giving her a small kiss.

She kissed him back and pulled away, smiling. "Now everyone knows you're mine." She said, talking about his fan girls.

He smirked, bringing her closer. "I'm pretty sure everyone already knew that."

"But now it's official." She said, smiling.

There were now others on the dance floor with the couple, Neji and Tenten and Naruto and Hinata. There was a deep cough, and Gaara glanced over to see Kakashi, "May I cut in." he offered his hand towards Sakura, but his glare never left the redhead.

"Sure," he agreed reluctantly, taking Sakura's hand and placing it in Kakashi's.

"You know Sensei, you still have lousy timing. I mean, we didn't even get to finish our first dance." Sakura whined, smiling slightly at the silver haired jounin.

"Hey cut me a break Sakura. At least I didn't object to your union with that boy." Kakashi said, glaring over towards the redhead, who was now talking with Kiba.

"That's because Shishou stopped you. And even if you did object, I would have thrown you through the wall so fast you'd come flying through the opposite one." She said, giving him a stern look.

"Yes well, glad that didn't happen then." He replied. Then he looked at her seriously. "Remember Sakura. Numbers one, two, and three. They still apply."

She rolled her eyes at him. "Whatever Sensei. We're married now, those things are gonna happen. You just have to get over it."

Before Kakashi could say anything more Sasuke was next to them, asking for a dance. Their old sensei handed her over, smiling at the Uchiha. If Sakura had just married Sasuke, Kakashi _wouldn't_ have threatened him. Because he actually _liked_ Sasuke.

Sakura and Sasuke began to dance, albeit a bit awkwardly for her. "You look amazing Sakura." Sasuke said, gazing at her appreciatively.

"Thanks Sasuke." She smiled slightly, hoping that their conversation didn't take a turn for the worse.

It did.

"You know, what I said last night still stands. Whenever you get tired of him, I'll be waiting for you. And don't worry, I _want_ kids. We can have as many as you want, the sky's the limit." He said, giving her an earnest look.

By now she was looking around for Gaara, wanting him to come save her. How did Sasuke even know that she wanted kids? The last time they had talked about it she had told him that she wasn't sure. Maybe he had just heard about what had happened the other day in the hospital. Spotting her husband, her look turned pleading.

Kiba, who was the one facing Sakura at the time, gave Gaara a loud cough. He gestured with his head for the redhead to turn around. The Kazekage glanced back, having to mentally stop his sand from ripping that filth off his beautiful bride. He stalked over, doing his best not to make a scene, but then again considering who he was, making a scene was expected.

Placing a painful grip on the Uchiha's shoulder, Gaara ripped them apart, his glare far from friendly, "Uchiha, why are you touching my bride?"

Grabbing Gaara's hand, Sasuke took it off his shoulder. "Calm down Sabaku, we were just having a friendly chat. Besides, Sakura can take care of herself. At least, that's what _I've_ always believed." Sasuke said, glaring back at the redhead.

The redhead laughed darkly, "Oh Uchiha, if anything you did were friendly I wouldn't have to worry about it." He retorted with a smirk.

Not wanting things to escalate further, Sakura placed her hand on Gaara's shoulder. "It's almost time to cut the cake dear. We should head over there." She said, giving him a meaningful look. The last thing she wanted was a full blown fight at her wedding. Naruto had already done enough to embarrass her.

"Of course," he faced her, placing his hand on the small of her back and leading her away. But not without flashing the angry Uchiha a victorious grin. They stopped in front of the large cake, as Ino got the attention of the whole room.

"Everyone! It's time for the cutting of the cake!" the blonde yelled, quieting the room effectively.

"Cake? I love cake!" Naruto yelled, running over to the large dessert.

"You can't have any yet you baka! Not until Gaara and Sakura feed each other the first two bites!" Ino shouted angrily, pummeling the blonde man into the floor.

Rolling her eyes at her friend's antics, Sakura grabbed a knife and fork and cut two small pieces. She'd had to handle the cake details on her own while Gaara was unconscious in the hospital, but she knew he would like it, because she'd made sure not to make it too sweet. Placing a bit of the vanilla cake on her fork, she waited for Gaara to do the same. When they were both ready, they linked arms and fed each other the bites. But Sakura just couldn't help herself, so with a mischievous look in her eyes, she angled her fork in a way that made it so a little bit of the white frosting got on Gaara's nose.

He blinked and eyed her suspiciously, "You better get it off, or I might have to start another food fight." He smiled, trying his best not to laugh. Sakura let out a small giggle and leaned forward, kissing the frosting from his nose. Everyone clapped, a few sounds of appreciation following.

Once she pulled away, he leaned forward quickly and stole a kiss, enjoying every minute of this day. When they broke apart everyone continued dancing. About an hour later they opened their wedding presents, and after thanking the right people, had them all boxed up and sent to the house.

Only one thing was left to do before the couple could leave. Sakura had to throw her bouquet into a crowd of screaming girls. She got up on stage, and, grinning at the crowd of women surrounding her, tossed it into the air. And who should catch it but the quiet Hinata Hyuuga.

"That's not fair! She was already proposed to!" a woman yelled, pointing a finger at the blushing girl.

Sakura stomped her foot hard enough to shake the stage, hands on her hips. "That only means that it is meant to be. If you want some flowers that badly, take one of the decorations off one of the tables. I don't care, I'm ready to go home and take advantage of my husband." She said, causing the girl to blush in embarrassment and others to laugh.

She left the stage and grabbed the hand of her smirking husband. Looking up at him, she raised a brow. "What? It's true."

"Nothing, nothing." He shook his head. "But we still have one last thing to do before we can leave." He informed her. She blinked, a bit confused, when he led her back to the stage. All the guys cheered, and it was their turn to crowd around. Without informing his lovely wife, Gaara hiked Sakura's leg up, pulling her dress up daringly.

"That's right Gaara! Show her whose boss!" Kiba yelled from the crowd.

The redhead laughed, looking up at Sakura's beet red face. Finally he stopped when the blue garter came into view. Slowly he pulled it off, letting her leg back down. Without even looking to the crowd, he shot it into the mass. It was much more violent than the bouquet tossing, but it only made it funnier. Two hands grabbed the scandalous item, and Kiba growled threateningly at the dark haired Uchiha. It began to stretch with their tug of war, until Kiba punched Sasuke right in the jaw. Instantly the dark haired man released it and fell to the ground. Everyone went silent, wide eyed. Until a loud laughter broke out from the stage.

Gaara was holding his sides, trying to control his outburst. The brunette gave the groom a thumbs up, and surprisingly he returned it. Everyone else started laughing as well, applauding now, since it was a well-deserved punch.

Finally Gaara took Sakura and pulled her against him. They both waved, and then disappeared in an exit only the sand master could perform.

Kiba sauntered over towards his sexy companion, tossing the garter to her. She caught it reflexively and blinked, holding it up and giving him a quizzical look. "You know what that means." He smirked, bringing Ino against him. She blushed a light pink, but couldn't get a word in before he kissed her.

* * *

When they appeared in their room, Sakura began to walk towards the bathroom. Turning back to her new husband, she said, "I'm going to get out of this dress. I'll only be a few moments." And then shut the door, not waiting for a reply.

She unzipped the dress and laid it carefully across the chair in the corner of the bathroom. Then she took off all of her jewelry, except for her wedding and engagement rings. She reached up and took down her bun, shaking her hair out. It was somewhat curly, but it would do. Gaara didn't care about what her hair looked like anyways.

She reached into a small bag that had been hidden in the back of one of the cabinets. She pulled out the red negligee that Ino had given her for her birthday, and put it on. Looking at herself in the mirror, she tilted her head to the side in contemplation. I didn't look bad, but she wasn't sure if it looked good.

It was made of a thin red lace, which had a floral pattern sewn into it. The top was a halter, with an open back, and the bottom ended right below her butt. It also came with a matching pair of v-string underwear.

She brushed her teeth, and made sure that she still smelled nice. Pleased with the results, she continued to stand there and stare at herself in the mirror. She was nervous. _Really_ nervous. It wasn't like they had never gotten close to this before, but those moments were all spontaneous. This one was actually planned. Expected. What if she wasn't good at it? What if Gaara found her lacking?

She shook her head. No, Gaara told her all the time that she was beautiful. This would be no different. She would just have to quit being shy and get over it. It was Gaara's first time too, so it would only make sense that he was nervous as well.

These thoughts steeled her resolve, so before she changed her mind, she opened the bathroom door and walked into the bedroom.

Gaara's attention shifted from the silk sheets to the doorway, and it was obvious that he was in awe, because his jaw dropped. He was shirtless, propping himself up in bed with his elbow as if he were waiting for her.

She stopped at the end of the bed and began to fidget with the hem of her dress nervously. Did it really look that bad?

He blinked, regaining his state of mind. "What's wrong?" he asked, looking a bit worried. She wasn't having second thoughts was she? Gaara got up from their bed and walked towards her, only in his black boxers. He touched her shoulders tenderly and kissed her cheek. "If you're too nervous Sakura we don't have to do anything." He gave her a comforting smile. "But you know…we will have to eventually. I'd love to make beautiful babies with you." He said, trying to lighten the mood.

She smiled tentatively. "It's not that…do you…you don't think this thing is a bit much?" she asked, gesturing to her outfit. "Because I can go put that black one from last night back on…" she said, beginning to turn back towards the bathroom.

He grabbed her wrist, stopping her in her place. "Sakura…you look sexy. It looks amazing on you, now get in bed and show me why you're the best." He smirked, dragging her back to the place where they would consummate their love. He sat down on the edge, pulling her so she was standing between his spread legs.

She cupped his face and tilted it upwards, leaning down and kissing him softly on the mouth. When he responded, she placed her knee between his and pushed him back onto the mattress. Once he was flat on his back, she straddled his waist. Moving her fingers into his hair, she repositioned his head in order to deepen the kiss. Pulling away breathlessly, she smiled down at him. "You have to show me why you're the best too you know. I can't do all the work." She said, teasing him.

He laughed, letting his hands rest on her hips. "Have I ever laid back and let you torture me? There's no way I would let you have all the fun my love." He pressed her lower half against his so she could feel his need for her.

She gasped and turned red at the feeling of his arousal. Lying down on top of him, she slowly brought her hands down the sides of his neck until they were resting on his chest. She brought her head next to his and nipped his earlobe. Then she began to trail kisses down the left side of his neck, biting lightly every so often. Reaching the spot here his neck met his shoulder, she bit him hard, causing him to gasp softly. She quickly brought her tongue out to sooth the wound, being sure that she would leave a mark.

His hands moved from her hips and slowly to her back. He could barely contain the animal within. He wanted her, more than he ever had before. She was his now, he could do anything he wanted with her and her body. He smirked, his hands feeling her smooth back that arched from his touch. The fabric needed to be gone, he wanted nothing more than to feel Sakura's naked flesh against his own. Grabbing onto the thin sheer, he began pulling it up.

Sensing that he wanted her dress gone, she aided in its removal, being left only in her tiny underwear. Once it was on the floor she resumed her ministrations, moving lower so that she was now lavishing his chest with kisses.

Gaara took in a sharp breath, feeling his heart begin to race. As she moved further down, he let his hands run through her gorgeous pink locks. It was almost hard to imagine that this time he would finally have all of Sakura.

She left another love mark over his heart, and then continued her path down his hard stomach. She paused when she reached the edge of his boxers. Feeling bold, she snaked her fingers underneath the hem. She yanked them down, and pulled them off his legs. Once that was taken care of, she repositioned herself over him, grinding as she did so. Now all that was between them was her thin, skimpy underwear.

He locked gazes with her, grabbing the sultry panties she was wearing. In one fluid movement they were down to her knees. He was done letting her play. It was time to show her the king that she married. He grabbed her hips once more and rolled her off, taking his place on top. "Enough playful teasing," he told her, grabbing the underwear and tossing them off.

She smiled up at him. "So you're done laying back and letting me torture you?" she asked, raising a delicate brow at him.

"Done. I want you…now." He leaned down, taking her lips with his. He was going to conquer the only part of her he hadn't yet. He placed his hands on either side of her head, positioning himself in front of her entrance. His cocky expression disappeared, and he seemed hesitant.

She nodded in reassurance. She knew it would hurt in the beginning, but if it got to be too unbearable, she could always heal it later. "It's ok Gaara. I'm ready." She said, preparing for what was about to happen.

Accepting her words, he pushed forward, finalizing their joining and watching her face the whole time. He didn't want to hurt her, but he at least knew the basics of this process. He could see the pain she was trying to hide, but continued until he was completely inside her. He wanted her pain to be over as fast as possible.

They stayed like that for a while, letting Sakura adjust to having something inside her most private area. It didn't hurt too badly, and after a while, the pain began to leave her. She rotated her hips experimentally, gasping at the wonderful sensation following the motion. She moved them again, groaning this time.

A small smirk came back across his features, now that she was ready on her own he was ready to show her just how good it could feel to be one. Still at a slow pace, he pulled back, experimenting with what made her feel the best. Once he was close to removing himself, he thrust back in, getting a loud pleasured moan from his lover. It didn't take long for him to pick up the pace, his own eagerness replacing his thought process.

She wrapped her legs around his waist, bringing him deeper within her. Overwhelmed by what she was feeling her hands moved from clutching his biceps, to raking them down his back, leaving red marks wherever they went.

Her rough behavior seemed to awaken something deep inside him. He gripped the sheets tightly, their speed increasing. By now he was emitting his own sounds, the feeling was all his mind could comprehend. He was really glad he no longer housed the Shukaku, because this activity with the demon raccoon could have ended badly.

His change of pace had her screaming his name in pleasure. The fire in her belly was increasing, and at any moment, she felt like she was going to explode. He could feel it too, something hot building in his abdomen. With one final thrust and a shrill pleasured cry, both of them released, beginning one of the greatest adventures of their lives.


	16. Toshiro

**Typhoon**

_Chapter Sixteen_

-Toshiro-

_**Nine Months Later…**_

"Oh my gosh Gaara. Just pick an orange for pete's sake. Do I have to do everything myself?" Sakura asked, waddling up to the stand and grabbing an orange. She turned and handed it to him.

"Here. This one is perfect. Now pay the man and let's go. I want some ice cream." She said, slowly turning towards the direction of the ice cream vendor.

Gaara simply let her rant, already used to her mood swings and cravings by now. If he had had his way, he would be here grocery shopping by himself, leaving the _very _pregnant Sakura at home. But because she knew he was useless when it came to shopping, she had insisted on coming along.

He quickly paid the man and turned to catch up to his wife, grabbing her arm to support her. It took a while, since Sakura couldn't walk as fast as she used to, but they eventually made it to the ice cream stand. Buying their usual, one chocolate and one vanilla, he handed her the chocolate one and began on his.

She took one lick and then froze. Suddenly beneath her there was a puddle of water. Gaara stared at it, confused. "Sakura…what is _that_?" he asked, slightly horrified. He didn't remember hearing anything about pregnant women suddenly wetting themselves.

Sakura stared at the puddle, knowing exactly what that meant. She shrugged and continued to eat her ice cream. "It just means that my water broke and the baby is on the way." She told him, biting into her cone.

"WHAT?!" he screamed, "What do we do?! Where do we go?! The hospital! We need to get to the hospital!" he panicked, starting to cause a scene in the middle of the street. After all, he wasn't the best in these types of situations.

Sakura watched him indifferently, not surprised by his reaction at all. She continued to eat her ice cream, intent on finishing it before making her way to the hospital. He stopped in his pacing, looking back at her. "We have to go!" he yelled, worry all over his face. He grabbed her wrist, causing her to drop her ice cream before they disappeared in an instant.

They arrived in the lobby of the hospital. Gaara was immediately at the front desk demanding to know what to do and telling them she was about to have their baby. Sakura simply stared at her empty hand, sadness overwhelming her. "My ice cream…" she pouted. Shifting her glare to her husband, she huffed. "Gaara! You go get me another chocolate cone THIS INSTANT!" she yelled, stomping her foot.

He turned around from the front desk and blinked, "Sakura we don't have time for ice cream! The baby is coming!"

"It's not gonna be here for a while. If you don't go get me another cone, I swear this baby will grow up without a father." She threatened, completely serious.

He glared back at her, "I'm not leaving. So deal with it."

One of the nurses walked up, pushing a wheelchair, "Hello Sakura-sama. I see your baby is on the way." She smiled happily.

"Chair. Now." Gaara pointed towards the nurse.

She crossed her arms defiantly. "I am perfectly capable of walking thank you very much." She said, turning towards the hallway that led to the rooms used for birthing.

He followed her, grumbling with his arms crossed tightly over his chest. Such a defiant woman, he hoped their child took after him more. The nurse simply laughed and followed the two.

When they reached the room, Sakura grabbed one of the nightgowns and headed for the bathroom, closing the door in Gaara's face. When she reemerged, she placed her clothes in an empty chair and began to fold them, humming softly to herself.

"Sakura, you need to get in the bed. Leave the clothes alone." He told her, afraid that the baby would pop out at any moment and land on the tile floor.

"As I said Gaara, we have plenty of time. Most births take hours, so you might as well make yourself comfortable, because we'll be here for a while." She said serenely, placing the now folded clothes in the chair. Then she walked over to the bed and got in it, situating herself in a semi-reclined position. At the moment she could feel the pain of the contractions, but it wasn't anything she couldn't handle, and she knew she would need to save her energy for when it was time to push the baby out.

She turned to the nurse and asked, "Can you please send a message to Ino for me? Tell her that I am giving birth, and that I need chocolate. Lots and lots of chocolate. And some kebabs, the really tasty ones from the street vendor. She'll know what I'm talking about."

"Right away Sakura-sama." The nurse said, quickly leaving the room.

"Sakura, this is no time to be thinking about food. You should be doing those breathing exercises we learned about, not eating." Gaara told her, trying to remember how the exercises went.

"I need to eat something, since you wouldn't let me have any more ice cream. Besides, I'll need all the nutrients and energy I can get to push the baby out. Why don't you have a seat honey? You look kind of pale." She said, giving him a worried look.

He sat down in the empty chair in the room. He wouldn't let it show but he was freaking out. He had no idea what was supposed to happen, and it was _his_ child. He didn't want anything bad to happen to her, or their baby. He almost didn't like this feeling. It was hard enough always worrying about Sakura's safety, and now he had another life to look after. He leaned back and let out a loud sigh as he shut his eyes. This was going to be a long day.

A slice of chocolate cake, eight kebabs, and thirteen hours later, Sakura was close to screaming at the pain she was feeling. Ino and Kiba were waiting outside the room, since she only wanted Gaara to be with her when the baby arrived. She was so close, she could feel it. Literally.

Sweating from the effort she was putting forth, she turned her head to the side to look at Gaara. He looked like he was about to go crazy. She held her hand out to him. "Gaara…are you feeling ok?" she asked, panting.

Gaara tore his gaze away from her stomach and locked eyes with her. "Maybe I shouldn't be in here." He said, looking very strained. He took her hand. He needed reassuring that she would be alright. She was in so much pain, and he couldn't do anything about it. It was like his worst nightmare.

"No, don't leave. I _need_ you." She said, letting out a scream as another contraction hit her. She squeezed his hand really hard then, not focused enough to control her natural strength. After it had passed, she let go of his hand. "I'm sorry. I didn't hurt you too bad did I?" she asked worriedly.

He shook his head, "No I'm fine, sand armor remember?" he informed her, holding up his hand for her to see. His sand skin was cracked, slowly repairing itself. "You don't need to worry about hurting me." He took her hand once more and kissed her forehead. "Just hurry up and make it through this."

"Ok." She said, giving him a small smile.

"Sakura-sama it's time. You're dilated enough. Now give us one final push!" the doctor said encouragingly.

She let out a full scream then, gripping Gaara's hand tightly and scrunching her eyes in concentration. A few seconds later small cries filled the room. The doctor took the baby and washed it, cutting the umbilical cord and wrapping it in a small blanket. While this was going on the nurses retrieved the afterbirth, and healed Sakura's wounds from pushing the tiny child out of her body.

The doctor walked over then and handed Sakura her baby. "Congratulations, you have a beautiful baby boy."

She let go of Gaara's hand and sat up, cradling her son in her arms. She was a mother. She smiled at her baby. He had his father's hair and eyes, although they were just a bit darker. "Gaara, you're a father." She said in awe. Looking over at her love, she asked, "What should we name him?" slight worry on her face as her dream from months ago came back to haunt her. No, he wanted this child, otherwise he wouldn't have been so worried.

He was beside her in a second, looming over their beautiful creation. She saw the smile that crept slowly up his face. He let his hand up, stroking the small boy's cheek gently. "His name…should be Toshiro." He said softly, looking from his perfect, innocent son to its beautiful mother.

She smiled back up at him tenderly. "Toshiro it is then." And there so began one of the greatest journeys the couple would embark on with each other. The journey of parenthood.

**THE END**

**LIKED TYPHOON? THEN GO READ:**

**QUAKE**

The terrifying sequel to Typhoon. Gaara and Sakura have a family now and everything is going great, until a disastrous Quake threatens to destroy the foundation of their lives.


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